Andreas Walther - Böcker

Young People and the Struggle for Participation rethinks dominant concepts and meanings of participation by exploring what young people do in public spaces and what these spaces mean to them, individually and collectively. This book discusses how different spaces and places structure and are in turn structured by young peoples’ activities.Drawing on findings from a comparative study in eight European cities, insights into different styles of youth participation emerging from formal, non-formal and informal settings are presented. The book provides a comparative analysis of how transnational discourses, national welfare states and local youth policies affect youth participation. It also investigates how it comes about that young people get involved in different forms of participation in the course of their biographies. This book will appeal to academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of youth studies, community studies, sociology of education, political science, social work, psychology and anthropology.

Young People and the Struggle for Participation rethinks dominant concepts and meanings of participation by exploring what young people do in public spaces and what these spaces mean to them, individually and collectively. This book discusses how different spaces and places structure and are in turn structured by young peoples’ activities.Drawing on findings from a comparative study in eight European cities, insights into different styles of youth participation emerging from formal, non-formal and informal settings are presented. The book provides a comparative analysis of how transnational discourses, national welfare states and local youth policies affect youth participation. It also investigates how it comes about that young people get involved in different forms of participation in the course of their biographies. This book will appeal to academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of youth studies, community studies, sociology of education, political science, social work, psychology and anthropology.

This title was first published in 2002.Communities of Youth critically evaluates what it means to be a young person at the beginning of the twenty-first century and the problems, opportunities and dilemmas that emerge from the experience. The book is concerned with putting key conceptual debates to do with youth in a comparative cutting-edge empirical context. In particular, it endeavours to transcend what its contributors feel is one of the most damaging trends of recent work on the question of youth, namely: the division between young people’s transitions and youth culture. Building upon the notion of lifestyle as a means of bridging this gap, the book provides something original and timely: a way of linking young people’s broader structural concerns with the cultural and community contexts within which they conduct their everyday lives. The data discussed in the book emanates from a comparative European Union project conducted in Great Britain, Germany and Portugal. The three training programmes examined are based on the performing arts, but the authors argue that the skills young people glean from these courses are more to do with generic skills such as the ability to work effectively in groups, mutual responsibility, discipline and above all, confidence, than the technical proficiencies of performance. These courses become an important part of the young people’s lives and as such, provide a space within which they become themselves. In this sense, the book highlights the fact that far from being passive recipients of public policy, young people actively engage with the power structures that combine to shape their lives. Communities of Youth therefore considers the diversity of European youth and by tapping into this diversity it develops important recommendations that will inform academic debate, research and youth policy.

This title was first published in 2002.Communities of Youth critically evaluates what it means to be a young person at the beginning of the twenty-first century and the problems, opportunities and dilemmas that emerge from the experience. The book is concerned with putting key conceptual debates to do with youth in a comparative cutting-edge empirical context. In particular, it endeavours to transcend what its contributors feel is one of the most damaging trends of recent work on the question of youth, namely: the division between young people’s transitions and youth culture. Building upon the notion of lifestyle as a means of bridging this gap, the book provides something original and timely: a way of linking young people’s broader structural concerns with the cultural and community contexts within which they conduct their everyday lives. The data discussed in the book emanates from a comparative European Union project conducted in Great Britain, Germany and Portugal. The three training programmes examined are based on the performing arts, but the authors argue that the skills young people glean from these courses are more to do with generic skills such as the ability to work effectively in groups, mutual responsibility, discipline and above all, confidence, than the technical proficiencies of performance. These courses become an important part of the young people’s lives and as such, provide a space within which they become themselves. In this sense, the book highlights the fact that far from being passive recipients of public policy, young people actively engage with the power structures that combine to shape their lives. Communities of Youth therefore considers the diversity of European youth and by tapping into this diversity it develops important recommendations that will inform academic debate, research and youth policy.

Drawing on findings from a large EU-funded research project that took place over three years, this book analyses educational trajectories of young people in eight European countries: Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.Contributors explore interactions between structural and institutional contexts of educational trajectories, the individual meaning attached to education and the strategies adopted by young people to cope with its demands. The book also analyses the decision-making processes of individual students, placing them firmly within the social contexts of their families, local schools, national education systems and welfare states, as well as transnational policy contexts. In considering educational disadvantage, the book is based on primary, cross-national research with systematic analysis of the different themes addressed. As every chaptersis co-authored by two or three researchers, each based in a different country, the book goes beyond the usual country-based chapter design to provide an enriched insight into both comparative theory and research methods.

In a period where social unrest manifests itself by coinciding with young people's dissatisfaction with formal political involvement and the diversification of protest movements across the globe, the question of youth participation is at the forefront of democratic societies. This timely book offers a fresh look at youth participation: examining official and unofficial constructions of participation by young people in a range of socio-political domains, exploring the motivations and rationales underlying official attempts to increase participation among young people, and offering a critique of their effectiveness. Based on original research data, Youth participation in Europe provides a thorough analysis of participation initiatives at the implementation level and gives a transversal approach to various areas of youth participation. Drawing on examples from different European countries, it analyses the results of structure on youth participation and the effects of youth agencies on types of mobilisation.

Drawing on findings from a large EU-funded research project that took place over three years, this book analyses educational trajectories of young people in eight European countries: Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.Contributors explore interactions between structural and institutional contexts of educational trajectories, the individual meaning attached to education and the strategies adopted by young people to cope with its demands. The book also analyses the decision-making processes of individual students, placing them firmly within the social contexts of their families, local schools, national education systems and welfare states, as well as transnational policy contexts. In considering educational disadvantage, the book is based on primary, cross-national research with systematic analysis of the different themes addressed. As every chaptersis co-authored by two or three researchers, each based in a different country, the book goes beyond the usual country-based chapter design to provide an enriched insight into both comparative theory and research methods.

This open access book provides a unique research perspective on life course transitions. It presents fresh empirical research on “doing transitions” in different life phases (e.g., childhood, young adulthood, later life) and life domains (e.g., education, work, family, health, migration).

This open access book provides a unique research perspective on life course transitions. It presents fresh empirical research on “doing transitions” in different life phases (e.g., childhood, young adulthood, later life) and life domains (e.g., education, work, family, health, migration).

Out-of-Equilibrium (Supra)molecular Systems and Materials A must-have resource that covers everything from out-of-equilibrium chemical systems to active materialsOut-of-Equilibrium (Supra)molecular Systems and Materials presents a comprehensive overview of the synthetic approaches that use molecular and supramolecular bonds in various out-of-equilibrium situations. With contributions from noted experts on the topic, the text contains information on the design of dissipative chemical systems that adapt their structures in space and time when fueled by an external source of energy. The contributors also examine molecules, nanoscale objects and materials that can produce mechanical work based on molecular machines. Additionally, the book explores living supramolecular polymers that can be trapped in kinetically stable states, as well as out-of-equilibrium chemical networks and oscillators that are important to understand the emergence of complex behaviors and, in particular, the origin of life.This important book:Offers comprehensive coverage of fields from design of out-of-equilibrium self-assemblies to molecular machines and active materialsPresents information on a highly emerging and interdisciplinary topicIncludes contributions from internationally renowned scientistsWritten for chemists, physical chemists, biochemists, material scientists, Out-of-Equilibrium (Supra)molecular Systems and Materials is an indispensable resource written by top scientists in the field.

Wie gelingt es einer Gesellschaft, die nachkommende Generation zu überzeugen, bestehende Strukturen und Prozesse zu akzeptieren, diese selbst mitzutragen und sich darüber an der zu-künftigen Gestaltung von Gesellschaft zu beteiligen? Das Buch leistet einen Beitrag zur Klärung dieser Fragen, indem der aktuelle Partizipationsdiskurs kritisch beleuchtet und eine erste Heuristik entwickelt wird, wie Potenziale für Partizipation in unterschiedlichsten Praktiken Jugendlicher aufgedeckt werden können. Auf dieser Basis werden verschiedene Praktiken junger Menschen im öffentlichen Raum auf ihre Teilhabeansprüche hin untersucht. Die Beiträge setzen sich schließlich mit biographischen wie gesellschaftlichen Realisierungsbedingungen von Teilhabeansprüche auseinander.

It is commonly acknowledged that the risk of social exclusion has increased over the last few decades and that young people in particular are one of the most vulnerable groups, especially if they have not yet achieved a stable so­ cial position. In this context a stable position is interpreted as having obtained a stable position within the labour market. Across Europe it has also become commonly acknowledged that policies have to do 'something' for young people as they represent the future of present societies. In fact, among politi­ cians and policy administrators there is a broadly shared myth that it is e­ nough doing 'anything' for young people. The thematic network 'Misleading Trajectories' which is documented in the following chapters was concerned with examining these myths and highlighting the traps of social exclusion that are inherent in policies focusing on youth transitions (school, vocational trai­ ning, careers advice, social security, labour market programmes). The net­ work was funded by the European Commission under the 4th Framework Programme for Research, Technology and Demonstration, under the strand "Targeted Socio-Economic Research" from 1998 to 2001. It involved teams from eight countries, which were Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. The network began from the observation that many policies on the local, regional, national and European level that are intended to 'lead' young adults' towards gainful employment, adult status and social integration, are in fact 'misleading'.