Examining concepts of power and agency in research with young people

Concepts of power and agency have become increasingly prominent in the youth studies literatures and related research. A focus of the research to date has been an examination of how a better understanding of young people's lived experiences can reveal possibilities for young people's agency to emerge. Despite increased interest in the term agency, much less has been said about how the concept is defined and recognized in research with young people, including what the concept may entail but crucially, how the term is linked to and underpinned by the related concept of power. This paper seeks to contribute to our understanding of power and agency as utilized in research with young people. The discussion that follows identifies the possible ways in which different theoretical positions shape our understanding of how power and agency are investigated and how these understandings inform the ways we interpret young people's perspectives and actions as holding potential for ‘agency’. Drawing on recent empirical examples, we consider how varying interpretations of power and/or agency shape not only the ways in which young people's agentic experiences are theorized (and the related ontological and epistemological assumptions these positions imply) but also the presumed effects of that agency.     

The Criminal Justice System and the Politics of Scrutiny

The criminal justice system remains largely untouched by over a decade of scrutiny and restructuring of public services by consecutive Conservative administrations. This is despite the system's lack of accountability, absence of clear objectives, prolific unfettered spending patterns, and discrepancies in its treatment of suspects and offenders at all stages of the prosecution process as witnessed by regular and embarrassing “mishaps”. This paper explains the apparent contradictions in the New Right's social policy agenda showing how the overtly Thatcheritepolicies of “law and order” with its own brand of moral authoritarianism continues to immunize and protect the professional players on the criminal justice stage from the policies of scrutiny and consequent change. Ironically, it is argued, criminal justice and penal policy is one area of social policy where the machinery of appraisal, audit and management by objectives would be highly beneficial. Paul Wilding provided stimulating and helpful comments on the first draft of this paper and Howard Parker helped me to keep the contradictions of the system as the theme of the paper.     

Rough-cut capacity planning for remanufacturing firms

Capacity planning is a critical element of any successful production planning and control system. A method of rough-cut capacity planning is developed, based on the bill-of-resources approach, that can be used to plan for capacity required for firms in a remanufacturing including overhaul repair operations environment. The modified bill-of-resources approach developed takes into account two major stochastic elements inherent in this environment; probabilistic material replacement factors and probabilistic routing files. A detailed example from an actual repair overhaul operation is presented to illustrate the technique.     

Career Counselors Confront a Critical Crossroad: A Vision of the Future

The current challenges confronting career counselors require increased discourse regarding career counseling models. Some authors have initiated this discourse, but more participants are needed. The need also exists to communicate more aggressively the special expertise that career counselors bring to their work. As career counselors construct contemporary intervention models, they will need to engage in action research to demonstrate accountability and to document that their services are effective. Career counselors can embrace these activities by building on past practices to construct a vision for the future.     

Practice and Research in Career Counseling and Development—2002

The authors present a review of the 2002 career development literature. The literature review is divided into the following areas: career theory, career assessment, career counseling interventions and practice, career counseling training and professional issues, and international issues in career counseling. The authors discuss the implications of the findings in this literature for career counseling practice.     

A Career Readiness Typology and Typal Membership in Middle School

This study explored a career readiness typology of 629 8th‐grade students using the Career Factors Inventory. Data revealed developmentally appropriate elevated needs for information, specifically self‐knowledge. In addition, cluster analysis demonstrated the heterogeneity of career development needs of 8th‐grade students. Typal membership revealed little variance on sociodemographic factors. Career development implications are presented.