Positive for Youth - A new approach to cross-government policy for young people aged 13 to 19

A guidance documents from the DFE (Reference: DFE-00133-2011) published: February 2012

This set of documents describes all of the government’s policies for young people aged 13 to 19 in England within the context of a vision for a society which will enable all young people to succeed. They set out a new partnership approach for giving young people more opportunities and better support – with young people themselves as key influencers and with voluntary and community groups and local businesses drawn in as full partners.

A number of the policies covered apply across the United Kingdom, such as those of the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Ministry of Defence. The government will work with the devolved administrations on areas of shared interest.

There has been an extensive period of collaboration and consultation with young people and those who work with them to develop these materials. In March 2011 the Positive for Youth summit brought together young people and professionals with Ministers and officials from seven Government departments to identify and debate the key issues faced by young people today. This helped to develop a shared understanding of young people’s concerns and the support and services they need.

Includes:

• Secretary of State Foreword
  Ministerial Foreword

  Introduction
• Young People Today
• A Vision for a Society that is Positive for Youth
• Government Policy on Young People
• Working Together to Support Young People
• Making Progress Together
• Annex 1: The Positive for Youth Discussion Papers
• Annex 2: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Annex 3: Index of Case Studies

Downloads

Positive for Youth – A new approach to cross-government policy for young people aged 13 to 19 (PDF 102pp)

Positive for Youth – What it means for voluntary and community organisations (PDF 5pp)

Positive for Youth – What it means for young people (PDF 5pp)

Positive for Youth – What it means for business and other employers (PDF 5pp)

Positive for Youth – What it means for local authorities (PDF 5pp)

Positive for Youth presentation (PPT)

Related publications

Positive for Youth – Executive Summary (PDF 11pp)

---

Bereavement benefits: Findings from qualitative research

a research report (RR 790) by Katie Oldfield, Lorna Adams and Briony Gunstone (IFF Research) published by the DWP (February 2012)

Bereavement benefits are paid to surviving spouses in the event of their partner’s death. They are intended to provide some replacement for the deceased partner’s income, and reduce the impact of the disruption to the surviving partner’s own earning capacity at this time. Bereavement benefits are available to people who are married or in a civil partnership, subject to age conditions and National Insurance contributions.

This report presents findings from qualitative research with people who had received bereavement benefits during the last 18 months. Sixty in-depth interviews were carried out with recipients during September and October 2011. The interviews explored issues such as the financial impact of bereavement, the role of bereavement benefits, the impact of bereavement on the surviving partner’s career, and the impact of bereavement on childcare needs and arrangements.
The research was carried out by IFF Research.

Full report (PDF 41pp)

---

Wellbeing in the workplace: the impact of modern management

a research paper (CEPCP356) by Alex Bryson and Pekka Ilmakunnas CentrePiece – The Magazine for Economic Performance February 2012

How people feel about their jobs is an important part of their overall happiness yet until now, few studies have explored the links between employees’ well-being and their working environment. Alex Bryson and colleagues analyse data from Finland to assess the impact of modern management practices on well-being in the workplace.
Full article (PDF 2pp)

---

Ageing, skills and participation in work-related training in Britain: assessing the position of older workers

an article by Jesus Canduela, Matthew Dutton, Ronald W McQuaid and Robert Raeside (Edinburgh Napier University), Steve Johnson (University of Hull) and Colin Lindsay (University of Strathclyde) published in Work, Employment and society Volume 26 Number 1 (February 2012)

Abstract

Policy makers have introduced a number of measures to encourage older workers to stay in the labour market, with improving access to training a particular priority. Policy action appeared justified by evidence that older workers are less likely to participate in training, and more likely to have never been offered training by employers – a key finding of Taylor and Urwin’s (2001) review of Labour Force Survey (LFS) data from 1997.

This article models LFS data from 2007 to assess whether age remained a predictor of inequalities in training. It finds that men over 50 remained among those least likely to have been offered training by employers. There were other significant inequalities in participation, suggesting a polarization in access to jobs that offer opportunities for training and progression.

The article concludes that policies promoting ‘active ageing’ need to challenge negative employer attitudes and acknowledge fundamental inequalities in access to skills.

---

Youth violence at school and the intersection of gender, race, and ethnicity

Anthony A. Pegueroa (Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention, Virginia Tech) and Ann Marie Popp (Department of Sociology, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh) published in Journal of Criminal Justice 
Volume 40 Issue 1 (January-February 2012)

Abstract

Purpose
Research has revealed that school-based activities are related to youth violence at school; however, the intersection of gender, race, and ethnicity in this relationship remains uncertain.
Methods
This study utilises data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 and incorporates multilevel modelling techniques to examine the intersectionality of gender, race, and ethnicity in the relationship between school-based activities and youth victimisation at school.
Results
Racial and ethnic minority male involvement in school sports is linked to an increase in school-based victimisation, while White American male involvement in school sports is associated with a decrease in school-based victimisation. On the other hand, school sports appears to be an insulating factor against victimisation for girls regardless of their race or ethnicity.
Conclusions
This research underscores the importance of understanding the intersection of gender, race, and ethnicity when examining youth violence.

---

Are freelancers a neglected form of small business?

an article by John Kitching and David Smallbone  (Small Business Research Centre, Kingston-upon Thames University) published in Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development Volume 19 Issue 1 (2012)

Abstract


Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that freelancing is neglected by researchers as a form of small business activity. It aims to consider whether it is possible and useful for researchers to distinguish freelancers from other types of small business owner.


Design/methodology/approach
The paper does this in three ways:

• first, by conceptualising freelance status; 
• second, by examining the research literature on freelance workers; and, 
• third, by estimating the size of the UK freelance workforce to demonstrate their importance.

Findings
The definition proposed permits identification of many types of freelancer hitherto neglected by researchers. Freelancers are a large and growing proportion of the UK business stock and the recent recession has led to a further expansion.

Originality/value
Given the size and distinctiveness of the freelance workforce, researchers might explore the similarities and differences between freelancers and other small business owners with regard to:

• their motivations for starting and continuing to operate on a freelance basis;
• experiences of business ownership and management;
• the heterogeneity of the freelance workforce; and
• the wider social, economic and political causes and consequences of freelance working.

---

Resource sharing in a cloud computing age

an article by Matt Goldner (OCLC, Inc., Dublin, Ohio) and Katie Birch (OCLC (UK) Ltd, Sheffield) published Interlending & Document Supply Volume 40 Issue 1 (2012)

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the historical development of interlibrary loan, identify key milestones such as the codification of ILL practices and development of new technologies to facilitate those practices, and assess the impact that changes in technology and publishing are having upon resource sharing in the digital age.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors conduct an extensive historical review of global developments in resource sharing and then conduct a PEST analysis of societal factors affecting present day resource sharing.
Findings
Resource sharing continues to grow but there is a need to work together to find solutions to problems of distributed knowledge bases, incompatible systems, and electronic formats which often prohibit sharing of materials between libraries. Librarians must work with publishers, politicians, and systems developers to ensure that there is the same or equivalent rights to electronic materials as there is to print publications and that resource sharing systems can support new models of sharing and acquiring materials in multiple formats.
Originality/value
This paper provides a global perspective on the challenges of library resource sharing in the digital age.

---