Race lines and spaces of political action among migrant youth

Recently proposed Anti-Racism Strategy established within a framework of the Australian Government's multicultural policy, People of Australia, identifies ‘youth engagement’ as one of the key areas that needs to be promoted and supported. Young people have been invited to join youth councils and youth forums and work with national, state and local policy-makers. Some have taken up this challenge and became public faces and active members of anti-racism campaigns. Others, however, either remained silent about the discrimination they face, or organised their own grassroots youth-based and youth-led initiatives. This paper discusses individual and collective responses to racism among young people in Australia, focusing on Melbourne, and examines possibilities in which racism, as a common experience among migrant youth, can be utilised to form alternative spaces for political action, challenging not only interpersonal, but also systemic forms of racism. By drawing attention towards institutional and systemic forms of racism, and the historical perpetuation of racist practices, these youth initiatives rely on legal measures, and argue that racism should be discussed in the context of the broader Australian society, not only in relation to minority groups.     

Transferring a University-Led HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative to a Community Agency

Summary

Given the urgent need for HIV/AIDS interventions that will reverse current infection trends among urban minority youth, identifying effective and socially relevant approaches is of primary concern. HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives that are housed in, and led by, communities may address the limits of laboratory-based inquiry for this complex and socially-situated health issue. In this article, we describe the process of moving a researcherled, HIV/AIDS prevention research program—the Collaborative HIV/AIDS Adolescent Mental Health Project (CHAMP)—from a university laboratory to a community mental health agency with the goal of strengthening program access, effectiveness, and sustainability over time. We outline the framework, timeline, and responsibilities involved in moving the program, research, and technology from its original university base to a local community agency. From the challenges faced and lessons learned during this complex transfer process, we hope to enhance understanding of ways in which we can narrow the gap between academic and community leadership of HIV/AIDS prevention research.     

The Community Development for Healthy Children Initiative

Abstract

An increasing interest in positive youth development has led to the creation and expansion of programs and initiatives related to youth involvement and engagement. This article focuses on the Community Development for Healthy Children initiative, which envisions making Kansas the best state in the nation in which to raise a child. The initiative includes three primary strategies: A multi-media campaign; technical assistance and support to local communities; and mini-grant opportunities. The paper provides examples of activities from across the state that promote youth involvement. Outcomes across four areas are examined, and the benefits and challenges of this initiative are also discussed.     

Co-production dynamics and time dollar programs in community-based child welfare initiatives for hard-to-serve youth and families

Hard-to-serve youth and families residing in high-poverty communities often have multiple, interlocking needs. These needs necessitate complex service models. The complex model described in this article combines a unique approach to wraparound services with a coproduction framework and related theories. The model aims to improve outcomes for vulnerable youth and their families, simultaneously strengthening communities by employing residents and engaging participants in community service. Examples derived from current pilot projects illustrate co-production's importance for other child welfare initiatives.     

Three high school after-school initiatives: lessons learned

Alarmed by the large numbers of high school-age youth who are disengaged at school and leaving high school without a diploma or the important skills for the workplace, policymakers and youth advocates are beginning to see high school after-school as the new frontier in after-school programming. Although older youth represent a sizable percentage of American students, they garner only a small fraction of the federal, state, and local investments for after-school programs. This chapter reviews the insights and lessons learned from three after-school initiatives that have shown success in attracting high school students to their programs and engaging them in meaningful activities to support their success in school and transition to early adulthood: the After School Safety and Education for Teens, After School Matters, and the After-School Corporation. Emerging from these pioneering efforts are some promising practices and program models that can guide the development of future after-school programs, but not without the help of policymakers and funders, both public and private.     

Building Community-Based Alliances Between GLBTQQA Youth and Adults in Rural Settings

SUMMARY

This article discusses the need for community-based, gay-straight, youth-adult alliances in rural settings and provides a beginning framework for how to create this type of organization. It describes an emerging local community-based alliance of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, and youth and adult allies. Unlike school-based gay-straight alliances, this group, known as Prism, is open to youth from several schools in a college town and nearby rural communities.     

A national evaluation of community-based youth cessation programs: design and implementation

Although widely available, little is known about the effectiveness of youth cessation treatments delivered in real-world settings. The authors recruited a nonprobability sample of 41 community-based group-format programs that treated at least 15 youth per year and included evidence-based treatment components. Data collection included longitudinal surveys of youth participants (n = 878); posttreatment surveys of program leaders (n = 77); and one-time surveys of organizational leaders (n = 64)and community leaders in education, health, and juvenile justice (n = 94). Information about smoking-related ordinances was collected at the state and local levels. The framework, evaluation design, and implementation strategies described in this article provide a template for large-scale real-world program evaluations.     

An application of theory-driven evaluation to a drop-in youth center

This article reports on the theory-driven evaluation of a drop-in center for youth that incorporated a literature search, concept mapping with staff, and focus groups with youth. Findings revealed strong agreement among the three sources of data around specific elements identified as critical components of a program theory of global prevention in after-school-hours initiatives, such as drop-in centers. These results are used to illustrate how a theory-driven approach was relevant for the context and objectives of this evaluation, as well as how it was used to develop knowledge useful for action, social intervention theory, and further research.     

EFFECTS OF RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION AND NEIGHBORHOOD OPPORTUNITY STRUCTURE ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF BLACK AND WHITE YOUTH

The object of this article is to consider the impact of local labor market opportunities on the employment of youth, and to evaluate the extent to which residential segregation is detrimental to the employment of young blacks. In the study, labor force statistics for white and black youth are related to job availability estimates derived from Dun and Bradstreet business data for 74 neighborhood communities in the city of Chicago. The findings underscore the unique role of local labor markets, especially for youth enrolled in school. Job availability has a strong impact on the employment ratio of blacks, but affects the employment of white youth only slightly. It appears, however, that when job availability is controlled, blacks benefit somewhat from segregation. The implications for job redistribution and its possible effect on the racial employment gap are discussed.     

‘Reaching in’? The potential for e-petitions in local government in the United Kingdom

This article considers the extent to which petitions and e-petitions might allow citizens to ‘reach in’ to local authorities in the United Kingdom. It examines how e-petitions sit against wider debates about the use of technology and digital democracy and the extent to which petitions systems might align with traditional approaches to representative democracy. It highlights that, as with many other participative initiatives, digital or otherwise, there are a variety of issues and risks associated with e-petitions, including those associated with broad socio-economic factors, and others that are more specifically related to the use of e-petitions. However, drawing on existing examples of e-petitions systems in the United Kingdom, it suggests that, designed well, they may have potential value, not simply in terms of enabling ‘voice’ and participation, but also in helping educate and inform petitioners about local democracy and decision-making.     

Youth tobacco sales-to-minors and possession-use-purchase laws: a public health controversy

Tobacco use among youth remains one of our nation's most significant public health problems, and yet available evidence from prevention and cessation person-centered approaches has been mixed. Given these disappointing outcomes, some have recommended more public health approaches, and these include tobacco sales-to-minors and possession-use-purchase laws. While community members and police officials have endorsed these types of public health initiatives, many within the public health community have been either guarded or even oppositional to such approaches. The primary reasons for this controversy are reviewed in this article. Outcome studies indicate that sales-to-minors laws can be an effective step toward the reduction of youth access to commercial sources of tobacco. However, even with these laws in place, many youth indicate that they continue to have easy access to tobacco, often by means of social sources. Advocates of these approaches have argued that more comprehensive public health interventions are needed, such as programs that combine youth access and possession-use-purchase laws. This article reviews the ongoing debate behind these types of public health efforts, and examines the evidence of such programs to reduce youth tobacco use.     

A study of Italian young adults’ transnational mobility to Australia: The reproduction of unequal trajectories in the host society

In this article, we examine the mobility patterns of a group of Italian young adults migrating to Australia in the search of new education, labour and lifestyle opportunities. The article represents a contribution to the study of the link between youth mobility and unequal trajectories through the elaboration of a new conceptual framework based on the theory of epistemological fallacy that points to the growing disjuncture between the expectations of individual autonomy and the unequal distribution of resources to achieve them. This conceptual framework contributes to elucidate the paradox of mobility that drives young people between the aspiration to mobility and the reproduction of the structural factors that influence their success. We draw on data from a mixed methods research project examining the mobility of Italian young adults to Australia. Participants imagined mobility as a way of exiting insecurities and precarities in their local context to a more open and meritocratic society, but the analysis of their trajectories in the host country reflects similar patterns of stratification as experienced in the context of origin.     

Governing the Global Land Grab: What role for Gender in the Voluntary Guidelines and the Principles for Responsible Investment?

The heightened interest in large-scale foreign agricultural investment in regions with ‘unused’ arable land has triggered a great deal of international attention. Concerns about ‘land grabbing’ have initiated efforts at the global level to establish standards for ‘responsible investment’ and good governance. These initiatives warrant critical examination given the social, political, and economic inequalities to which they are designed to respond, yet the scholarship on these initiatives frequently fails to incorporate gendered analyses. This article argues that gendered analysis of the governance of land grabs not only belongs at the local level—where it continues to yield important insights into how gender inequality is manifested in various forms of local governance—but that it is sorely needed at the global level as well. As such, this article begins an assessment of these governance frameworks and how they consider local realities, with particular attention to gender-based inequalities.     

Youth Civic Engagement in the Twenty‐First Century

We enter the 21st century contending with the end of the Cold War's legacy of political uncertainty, expecting youth to play a significant part in the search for new principles that will bring about stability in the world political order. In forging the future, youth will have to collaborate with adults, but on terms more fitting of the historical circumstances that lie ahead than those of the past. This was the framework adopted by a group of social scientists who held several discussions to reflect on the issues and opportunities that bear on youth's civic engagement and development in the century that has just opened. The present article describes the results of those conversations, starting with the issue of defining civic competence, and the finding that an expansive definition is needed to match the real‐world circumstances that affect its development for youth internationally. Specific conditions, such as globalization, information – communication technology, and immigration, are emphasized as forces that affect youth and need to be taken into account by educators and policy makers. In this regard, responsibilities of schools, government, the commercial sector, and community organizations are outlined. Each is viewed as a potential constructive force for promoting engagement insofar as youth's strengths are recognized and focus is placed on building on youth's proven capacities. As always, it is youth’s task to make history in the future and society's obligation to provide youth with sufficient resources and an honest basis for hope in carrying out this task. The authors' policy recommendations are founded on this reciprocal relation that binds the youth generation with its elders in the common task of preserving, while transforming, society for the good of humanity.     

The practice of principles: an examination of CED groups in Vancouver, BC

The community economic development (CED) framework has its rootsat the margins of society but has gained a broader interest.This paper examines some key principles associated with theCED framework. Interviews with practitioners within three CEDorganizations in Vancouver resulted in themes that link CEDas a strategy for sustaining a broader vision of the organizations.CED ventures provide opportunities that enhance the connectionfor marginalized peoples to participate in local community organizations.Yet, there are challenges around delivering services withinan alternative framework operationalized within a market-basedparadigm. Nevertheless, CED initiatives can have far reachingimpacts beyond the individual and the organization. Indeed,CED is about networks of communities within communities.     

What schools are doing around career development: implications for policy and practice

This article describes the role that schools are playing in supporting career development for young people. It examines the history of career-related programming in schools, including school-to-work programs, career and technical education, the college and career readiness movement, and current school reform initiatives. This understanding of schools' history, roles, opportunities, and constraints can help practitioners and policymakers think about how to build a system that supports youth development.     

An overview of how sports, out-of-school time, and youth well-being can and do intersect

This article examines the benefits and disadvantages of participation in organized youth sports and describes a youth development approach to sports programming. The authors summarize what is known about the physical, socioemotional, and cognitive benefits of sports participation. These include health benefits (for example, a reduction in heart disease and diabetes) as well as socioemotional benefits, among them the coping skills of being able to bounce back from problems. The authors describe some of the disadvantages of participation as well. In particular, studies in this area have focused on health risk behaviors and engagement in problem behaviors. The authors present an innovative approach to youth sports and the advantages of implementing this approach using the emerging community youth development framework. Specific examples of youth sports programs are provided that use a positive youth development framework.     

Civil society,social accountability and service delivery in Zimbabwe

Post‐2000, the deterioration of Zimbabwe's socioeconomic and political conditions is widely acknowledged as phenomenal and unprecedented. Consequently, government and local authorities are struggling to provide basic services. At the same time, civil society initiatives are promoting transparency and accountability in service delivery. The article explains how civil society coalitions and citizens are promoting and demanding accountability in the delivery of public services by local authorities. In particular, it focuses on four critical issues; namely local authority–citizen engagement, social accountability focus areas, social accountability tools and emerging social accountability issues. The article concludes that civil society‐led social accountability initiatives are effective under conditions of civil society capacity, institutionalization of social accountability by local authorities, and negotiating local political dynamics.     

Beyond computer literacy: supporting youth's positive development through technology

In a digital era in which technology plays a role in most aspects of a child's life, having the competence and confidence to use computers might be a necessary step, but not a goal in itself. Developing character traits that will serve children to use technology in a safe way to communicate and connect with others, and providing opportunities for children to make a better world through the use of their computational skills, is just as important. The Positive Technological Development framework (PTD), a natural extension of the computer literacy and the technological fluency movements that have influenced the world of educational technology, adds psychosocial, civic, and ethical components to the cognitive ones. PTD examines the developmental tasks of a child growing up in our digital era and provides a model for developing and evaluating technology-rich youth programs. The explicit goal of PTD programs is to support children in the positive uses of technology to lead more fulfilling lives and make the world a better place. This article introduces the concept of PTD and presents examples of the Zora virtual world program for young people that the author developed following this framework.     

An approach to theory-based youth programming

A key but often overlooked aspect of intentional, out-of-school-time programming is the integration of a guiding theoretical framework. The incorporation of theory in programming can provide practitioners valuable insights into essential processes and principles of successful programs. While numerous theories exist that relate to youth development practice, they often remain inaccessible to practitioners. Therefore, the goal of this article is to synthesize two theoretical perspectives, the social development model and self-determination theory, into a practitioner-friendly programming framework. The resulting social development programming model outlines specific components, processes, and outcomes of effective and intentional youth development programs.