This publication presents the expertise and knowledge youth centres have gained by organising international youth work processes. To uncover this knowledge, a research module was included in the Erasmus+ funded project: Boost Your... more
This publication presents the expertise and knowledge youth centres have gained by organising international youth work processes. To uncover this knowledge, a research module was included in the Erasmus+ funded project: Boost Your Possibilities! – Youth Centres for Youth Mobility and Intercultural Learning: Impact of Internationality (2015–2017). The project was implemented in three countries: Finland, Estonia and Slovenia.
During the research process, various methods of inquiry were used to investigate the scale of impact of international youth work conducted by the youth centres. The young people, youth centre personnel and decision makers’ experiences concerning this impact and perceived development needs were gathered using a variety of methods: story-telling, a pilot survey, interviews and interactive evaluation. These methods were tested and fine-tuned during this study and were found to be working well for the youth centres and would continue to do so in the future.
Three forms of impact were found: youth work results, promotion of expertise in youth work and the economic impact of youth centres – the latter impact in the context of national youth centres in Finland. It was also suggested that if three forms of impact emanate from international youth work then all three forms of impact must be included in the evaluation process. As a result, youth centre partners in cooperation from local and international networks could also be asked, among other questions, how successfully youth centres have promoted international youth work expertise. In such an inquiry, the use of a similar survey and interactive evaluation method employed here to reveal the impact of youth work results, is implicated.
Yet, there were two youth service features missing from the research procedure that should be included in the future: accessibility and equality mapping. The process of mapping will generate more knowledge on why some young people, though keen to participate, cannot gain access to youth work services.
During the research process, various methods of inquiry were used to investigate the scale of impact of international youth work conducted by the youth centres. The young people, youth centre personnel and decision makers’ experiences concerning this impact and perceived development needs were gathered using a variety of methods: story-telling, a pilot survey, interviews and interactive evaluation. These methods were tested and fine-tuned during this study and were found to be working well for the youth centres and would continue to do so in the future.
Three forms of impact were found: youth work results, promotion of expertise in youth work and the economic impact of youth centres – the latter impact in the context of national youth centres in Finland. It was also suggested that if three forms of impact emanate from international youth work then all three forms of impact must be included in the evaluation process. As a result, youth centre partners in cooperation from local and international networks could also be asked, among other questions, how successfully youth centres have promoted international youth work expertise. In such an inquiry, the use of a similar survey and interactive evaluation method employed here to reveal the impact of youth work results, is implicated.
Yet, there were two youth service features missing from the research procedure that should be included in the future: accessibility and equality mapping. The process of mapping will generate more knowledge on why some young people, though keen to participate, cannot gain access to youth work services.
Research Interests: Youth Work and Evaluation
The individualization of family life is one of the crucial ideas among leading theorists dealing with late modernity (Giddens, 1991; Beck, 1992; Bauman, 2000; Beck-Gemsheim, 2002). The individualization thesis was applied in a study of... more
The individualization of family life is one of the crucial ideas among leading theorists dealing with late modernity (Giddens, 1991; Beck, 1992; Bauman, 2000; Beck-Gemsheim, 2002). The individualization thesis was applied in a study of youth attitudes and actions relating to individualization in family life. Data were gathered through surveys on representative samples of young people from nine countries in Southeast Europe. The Human Development Index (HDI) was used as an indicator of the general level of modernization. Analyses revealed that young people from countries with higher HDI tend to (1) be substantially more autonomous in their decision-making and in their plans for the future; (2) perceive relationships with their parents as more conflictual; (3) perceive decision-making in their family as less patriarchal; and (4) be substantially less inclined to marry. With the notable exception of Slovenia, there is also a strong tendency for youth from more developed countries to le...
Research Interests:
ABSTRACT
Research Interests:
The aim of this study was to compare and contrast correlates of fruit and vegetable consumption in two blue-collar populations: construction laborers and motor freight workers. Cross-sectional data were collected from two groups of male... more
The aim of this study was to compare and contrast correlates of fruit and vegetable consumption in two blue-collar populations: construction laborers and motor freight workers. Cross-sectional data were collected from two groups of male workers: (1) construction laborers (n = 1,013; response rate = 44 %) randomly selected from a national sample, as part of a diet and smoking cessation study; and (2) motor freight workers (n = 542; response rate = 78 %) employed in eight trucking terminals, as part of a tobacco cessation and weight management study. Data were analyzed using linear regression modeling methods. For both groups, higher income and believing it was important to eat right because of work were positively associated with fruit and vegetable consumption; conversely, being white was associated with lower intake. Construction laborers who reported eating junk food due to workplace stress and fatigue had lower fruit and vegetable intake. For motor freight workers, perceiving fast food to be the only choice at work and lack of time to eat right were associated with lower consumption. Comparing occupational groups illustrates how work experiences may be related to fruit and vegetable consumption in different ways as well as facilitates the development of interventions that can be used across groups.