Large Youth Population Research Articles

Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe

São Tomé and Príncipe is a fragile, small island-state, with limited resources and capacity. The last Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement expired at end-2018 having gone off-track amid parliamentary elections, power outages, internal and external imbalances, and high debt vulnerability. Growth slowed, inflation rose, the fiscal position deteriorated, and foreign reserves declined sharply in 2018, while some critical structural reforms were delayed. Higher and more inclusive growth is needed to reduce poverty and unemployment, particularly among the large youth population.

Child and adolescent psychiatry training and services in the Middle East region: a current status assessment.

Mental health is a key component of health, yet appropriate care is limited. Evidence concerning child and adolescent mental health has predominantly come from western countries, while the Middle East region, with a large youth population, has reported very little on it. This original, cross-sectional study of child and adolescent psychiatry in the Middle East provides an assessment of current postgraduate programs, services and what is needed to build workforce capacity. Academic psychiatrists from 16 Middle East countries were invited to form a Consortium to map current postgraduate training as one of thedeterminants of available child and adolescent psychiatry services, identify gaps in the distribution of child and adolescent psychiatrists, and propose potential steps to improve access to child and adolescent mental health care. The study collected data from 15 of the 16 countries invited (no data provided from Yemen). The study revealed underdeveloped child and adolescent psychiatry academic systems throughout the region. Despite recognition of the specialty in a majority of the countries (11/15), only six countries had established a designated child and adolescent psychiatry training program. The overall shortage of child and adolescent mental health specialists varied, yet all Consortium members reported a need for additional child and adolescent psychiatry specialists and allied professionals. Lack of child and adolescent psychiatry specialized programs in place throughout the region has evidently contributed to the shortage of qualified child and adolescent mental health workforce in the Middle East.

Perception of tobacco use in young adults in urban India: a qualitative exploration with relevant health policy analysis.

Tobacco is one of the biggest global health concerns of this century with a significant contribution to the increasing burden of cancers, chronic diseases and associated mortality. Tobacco-related cancers are one of the commonest causes of cancer-related mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The tobacco epidemic is constantly on the rise, affecting LMICs in particular due to a lack of awareness in the population, insufficient health infrastructure and weak regulatory interventions. India is home to the world’s largest youth population and a large percentage of them take up tobacco at a very young age, leading to subsequent habit formation. There is limited evidence in published research from India on young people’s perceptions on the use and control of tobacco.This qualitative study has attempted to bridge that knowledge gap; a thematic analysis was used on the qualitative data gathered from young university students who participated in interviews and focus group discussions, which was then compared and contrasted with a critical analysis of India’s national tobacco control measures. It employed a health policy analysis framework to understand how gaps in the national tobacco control initiatives contribute towards tobacco use in young people and what opportunities for policy reform exist.The main results revealed social and behavioural factors, peer dynamics and lack of awareness to be majorly influencing the tobacco debut and use in youth. Some other important findings emerged such as a lack of available support for tobacco cessation, leading to failure in quitting, a lack of understanding about the ill effects of tobacco and an overall lack of belief in the existing tobacco control measures. The qualitative results were further triangulated by the critical analysis of the national tobacco control policies, comparing them with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Juxtaposition of the qualitative research findings with the policy analysis reveals possible gaps in implementation of the tobacco laws. The findings from this study will inform health policymakers, public health professionals, clinicians, the government and other voluntary organisations to strengthen national tobacco control efforts.

Quality Management and Best Practices: An Experiential Learning Model for Higher Education with a special reference to Laxmi Memorial Education Trust

Education helps men and women claim their rights and realize their potential in the economic, political and social arenas. It is also the single most powerful way to lift people knowledge-based society. Further, higher educational institutions contribute to the growth of the nation by providing specialized knowledge and skilled work force. Education helps men and women claim their rights and realize their potential in the economic, political and social arenas. It is also the single most powerful way to lift people knowledge-based society. Further, higher educational institutions contribute to the growth of the nation by providing specialized knowledge and skilled work force. Though India has a very large population of youth who lookup for higher education, the number and percentage of students enrolling for higher education and professional courses are far below the world average. Educational institutions have realized that in the highly competitive environment, students can be attracted to them only by providing the best in terms of facilities and inputs. But, there is still no universal consensus on how best the quality can be managed within higher education. The present study tries to understand and report the views and perceptions of heads of educational institutions, faculty and the students from selected five institutions functioning under Laxmi Memorial Education Trust ® (LMET), with reference to quality on various dimensions and to develop a model based on the research indication received.

Perceptions of community safety and social activity participation among youth in South Africa.

BackgroundCrime and violence causes massive disruptions to the health, survival and development of populations. In South Africa, incredibly high rates of crime and violence are noted. The country also has a very large youth population whose health, survival and development are key to economic growth. Among other efforts to encourage healthy youth development and the promotion of social activities such as sports, youth groups, choirs and so forth. This study examines the relationship between perceived community safety and the uptake of social activities among youth in South Africa.Data and methodsThis paper uses data from the National Youth Lifestyle Survey (2008) with an unweighted sample of 4,391 youth (age12-22 years old). Using chi-square and logistic regression analysis the association between perceived community safety and social activity participation are tested.FindingsThe results indicate that youth participation in social activities in South Africa is high (55% of males and 45% of females). Among males, the most prominent activity is sports (51.8%), while for females there is high participation in choir and singing groups (55.68%). More than 50% of males perceive their communities as risky while less than half of females feel the same. Male youth are more likely to participate in social activities if they perceive their communities as risky (OR = 1.04). Females (OR = 0.83), youth have a negative view of their future (OR = 0.43) are less likely to participate in social activities.ConclusionsThere exists an association between youth’s perception of community safety and their participation in social activities. Whether sports and groups are protective or enabling environments for youth from unsafe communities is moot. More in-depth research is needed on why youth participate in these clubs and groups to truly understand the role of social activities in South African societies.

Entrepreneurial mindset in video gaming sector: evidence from Turkey

Video gaming is one of the fastest growing sectors in the global market. The international games market will reach USD $110 billion by 2017. Although the economic scale of video gaming is continually increasing in Turkey, the country has few gaming companies. Turkey has the ability to be a competitive player in the global video gaming market; however it faces a number of challenges. This article analyzes the current status of the Turkish video gaming sector, including examining its inherent problems and proposing some solutions. The findings are based on a national survey conducted in 2012. Turkey has a large youth population, presenting a good market for gaming companies. The paper finds that there is an urgent need to develop an entrepreneurial ecosystem within Turkey. Pre-incubation centers would play a central role in such developments.

Strategic Thinking-E-Detailing for the Pharmaceutical Industry-A Case Study

Digital evolution in the 21st century has primarily made significant transformation in the society, culture and lives of the people. As stated in the business line report, “India has the world’s largest youth population and it is also progressing in technical connectivity thorough internet and mobile phones. At a time 2.8 million are connected 5.2 million through mobile devices”. In retail, banking, insurance, education etc. sectors the digital penetration is very high and it is the right time for Pharmaceutical companies to transform with a right blend of e –Detailing strategies and culture.

Youth Barometer Report - 2017

A quarter of the world’s population today is constituted of 1.8 billion adolescents and youth (between the ages of 10 and 24 years) – the largest youth population ever. There has never been earlier so many young people and consequently never before there has been such a humongous opportunity for economic and social development. This swell in the worldwide population of young people has the unprecedented potential to metamorphose economies for better or worse, contingent on the decisions and inclination of today's policy makers and how well governments respond to young people’s needs and enable them to engage fully and implicitly in public and economic affairs. This enormous growth in both the number and share of youth in the population in much of the developing world has ensued a phenomenon increasingly being stated as “youth bulge”. This evolution is indicated by a striking change in the age structure of the population, where the proportion of youth increases substantially compared to other age groups, both older and younger. It has occurred as a result of demographic transition, that is, decreasing early childhood mortality followed, with a lag, by diminishing fertility. This demographic transition paves the way for demographic dividend. That is, for a country to realize a demographic dividend, it must first undergo a demographic transition. Economies which have sizeable cohorts of adolescents and youth can reap a substantial demographic dividend for national progress, resilience and sustainability. India accounts for 17.5 percent of total global population (5). With a youth population of 356 million, India alone has the world’s highest number of 10 to 24-year-olds—despite having a smaller population than China, which has 269 million young people. Despite this ardent calling for greater attention to young people in recent years, there is a dearth of research-based evidence that can inform policies and help framing apt strategic interventions rather than making untargeted action plans. In fact data in the youth sector is a mixed bag being both almost all-inclusive in some areas and almost completely absent in others. International research agencies (such as WHO, UNFPA and UNESCO) and Government of India (Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation) maintain fairly comprehensive youth-specific statistics on health, education and employment indicators. However, in other areas like youth opinion, perception, participation and engagement there have been virtually no data or associated statistics. There is only scanty reliable and comparable data collected on youth participation and perception. This is despite the emphasis on youth participation and engagement. In recognition of the importance of the growing population of young people in India, several policies and programmes have been formulated since 2000 such as the National Youth Policy or the National Population Policy, however their implementation and effective translation in to interventions have been limited on account of a lack of understanding about the needs of the youth. Evidence based research and data is needed to make sure that the voices of youth remain an active part of the process of implementation of the policies and framing of the relevant interventions. Therefore Magic Bus foundation has conceptualized and conducted a pioneering systematic survey – named as Youth Barometer to ensure that the voices of youth remain an active part of the process of implementation. It is a part of a series of annual surveys with an objective to understand and monitor the changing concerns among 18 - 24 year old Indian youth. It aims to bridge the knowledge gap, inform and feed the agendas, policies and plans of government and other stakeholders through the well-researched findings and recommendations of the study. By hearing out the needs and aspirations of these youth through this survey, Magic Bus eventually attempts to give them access to opportunities that will break their cycle of deprivation, developing them into fully engaged and participative citizens of India through coordinated and synchronised efforts along with multi-strategic partners. The underlying belief which drives this study is that it is only when the nation actually hears the voice of youth will it take the appropriate action. Rightly put by Kofi Annan--Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, they are left on society's margins, all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies.

Driving at Full Employment of Youth of India – Reflecting on Concrete Experience and Abstract Conceptualizing an Action Plan

<div><p><em>The unemployment of youth in India is on the rise. The employability of fresh graduates in India is very low. The general productivity of workforce is also very low. Proper and more interventions, positive actions are required to address the above problems. Solutions may be possible through the four elements of psychological capital development of youth namely, confidence, optimism, perseverance and bouncing back. This paper attempts first mapping the author's own concrete life-long experience with PysCap elements. Then attempting to abstract conceptualizing an action plan, as a learner. This has given some insights, particularly taking the Indian context of spirituality, large population of unemployed youth and how they could be given proper orientation on industry expectation and developing networks through mentors from industry, as one of the best method of effective skill training is by the employer whether formal or informal training, as the industry can not reject the educated youth, after they complete their education. In addition, the paper presents a learner produced integrated PsyCap schematic diagram and recommends an action plan which can be taken up for further participatory-action research. The paper can be used as a case study learning material for development students as this covers developmental psychology, adult education, traditional apprenticeship, gurukula, formal education, distance mode and self directed learning. The positive PsyCap development is not one time exercise, but spreads from young age to old age, as we can not waste the human resources of our country at this critical time of providing and meeting sustainable development goals. </em></p></div>

Youth Bulges and Civil Conflict

The presence of an exceptionally large youth population, that is, a youth bulge, is often associated with an elevated risk of civil conflict. In this article, we develop an instrumental variable approach in which the size of the youth cohorts in Sub-Saharan Africa is identified using variation in birth-year drought incidence. Our results show that an increase in the size of the population group aged fifteen to nineteen raises the risk of low-intensity conflict. A 1 percent increase in the size of this age-group augments the likelihood of civil conflict incidence (onset) by 2.3 (1.2) percentage points. On the other hand, we do not find any association between the size of the two adjacent youth cohorts, that is, the population groups aged ten to fourteen and twenty to twenty-four.

At a Crossroads: Pakistani College Students’ Perspectives on Service and Service-Learning

With its large youth population, high unemployment, and limited educational opportunities, Pakistan is at a crossroads. Service-learning is a new concept in Pakistan, and several universities have begun to incorporate service into their curricula—with varying degrees of success—as a means for bridging academia with pressing community concerns. This qualitative case study explored Pakistani college students’ perceptions of service and how service-learning was being developed at their university, and the challenges they had encountered. Findings revealed students’ desire for a relevant education that not only prepares them for productive careers, but also serves their communities; gaps between the realities of and aspirations for education; issues of empowerment; and the need to mitigate risks. Analysis of the findings revealed a tension—a “tragic gap” (Palmer, 2004)—between what is and what could be in relation to service-learning and civic engagement in Pakistan.

Youthful socialities in Australia’s urban multiculture

This article considers the function of friendship as a form of urban relation for young people living in working class areas of Australia’s multicultural capital cities. These neighbourhoods are characterised by very high diversity, significant socioeconomic disadvantage and large youth populations, and over the last five years many have received the largest influx of refugees and migrants of any Australian municipality. Against this backdrop, this article investigates the ways that sociality is produced amongst young people of many backgrounds who must constantly negotiate interethnic propinquity in their daily lives. It explores how young people create ways of being together beyond and beneath the imperatives of formal social cohesion initiatives to participate in harmonious community-making. It argues that everyday forms of convivial co-habitation are produced and regulated through friendship relations and networks that embed mix in daily life, and these can serve to recognise and manage, rather than eliminate, intensity, conflict and ambivalence. It suggests that such practices of sociality complicate mainstream policy endeavours, and can offer some important and hopeful ways to expand theorisation of social relations in the multicultural city.

“Long, boring, and tedious”: youths' experiences with complex, religious texts

AbstractGrowing out of the renewed attention to text complexity in the United States and the large population of youth who are deeply committed to reading scripture, this study explores 16 Latter‐day Saint and Methodist youths' experiences with complex, religious texts. The study took place in the Midwestern United States. Data consisted of an academic year of participant observations and 59 extensive, semi‐structured interviews conducted over 2 years. Constant comparative analysis revealed two primary areas of struggle that participants had with the Book of Mormon and the Bible: scriptural language and contradictions with and within scripture. Struggles with the antiquated language of scripture included having difficulty with its diction, syntax and literacy devices. Struggles with text contradictions included the intratextual inconsistencies and youths' personal conflicts with what they believed scripture said. Similarities and differences were manifest across the two congregations within the aforementioned areas. This study raises important questions about the use of complex texts for instructional purposes, motivating youth to engage with complex texts, and the development of new lines of literacy research focused on religious texts and youths' experiences with these texts.

Youth-Led Participatory Video as a Strategy to Enhance Inuit Youth Adaptive Capacities for Dealing with Climate Change

Rapid climatic and environmental changes experienced throughout the Canadian North are having significant impacts on the lives of Inuit, with implications for the future of the large Inuit youth population. Within the adaptation research and practitioner community, youth voices, perspectives, and involvement are essential in ensuring representative and sustainable adaptation strategies. This paper examines the potential of youth-led participatory video (PV) as a strategy to foster known protective factors that underpin the resilience of youth and their capacity to adapt to various stresses, including impacts of climate change. The work draws on a case study from the Inuit community of Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Labrador, Canada, where a two-week PV workshop was conducted with seven youth and followed by in-depth interviews with participants and community members. The findings show that PV may be a pathway to greater adaptive capacities because the process connects to known protective factors that enhance resilience of circumpolar indigenous youth. PV also shows promise as a strategy to engage youth in sharing insights and knowledge, connect generations, and involve young Inuit in planning and decision making in general.

Do not Lose Your Students in Large Lectures: A Five-Step Paper-Based Model to Foster Students' Participation.

Like most of the pharmacy colleges in developing countries with high population growth, public pharmacy colleges in Egypt are experiencing a significant increase in students’ enrollment annually due to the large youth population, accompanied with the keenness of students to join pharmacy colleges as a step to a better future career. In this context, large lectures represent a popular approach for teaching the students as economic and logistic constraints prevent splitting them into smaller groups. Nevertheless, the impact of large lectures in relation to student learning has been widely questioned due to their educational limitations, which are related to the passive role the students maintain in lectures. Despite the reported feebleness underlying large lectures and lecturing in general, large lectures will likely continue to be taught in the same format in these countries. Accordingly, to soften the negative impacts of large lectures, this article describes a simple and feasible 5-step paper-based model to transform lectures from a passive information delivery space into an active learning environment. This model mainly suits educational establishments with financial constraints, nevertheless, it can be applied in lectures presented in any educational environment to improve active participation of students. The components and the expected advantages of employing the 5-step paper-based model in large lectures as well as its limitations and ways to overcome them are presented briefly. The impact of applying this model on students’ engagement and learning is currently being investigated.

Horrendous Situation of Substance Abuse in Pakistan: A Bird’s Eye View on Socio-Demographics

Substance abuse in Pakistan is one of the major causes for concern that affects almost all segments of society. It has not only devastating effects on the physical and psychological wellbeing but also has the adverse effects on manpower and economic growth of the country. It is commonly believed that, in Pakistan, among the major public, social and medical issues of the twentieth century, drug abuse ranks as one of the most devastating and costly [1,2]. Drug abuse, and particularly heroin addiction, has been spreading at a fast rate since the late 70s. Pakistan has extensively been exposed to illegal opium, trafficking and abuse. However, the magnitude, degree and severity of the dilemma vary over time. [3] Pakistan is a country with a large population of youth, drug use has been found more common among those who are under the age group 15-39. Cannabis use seems to be highest among 30 to 34 year old individuals and heroin use seems to be highest among 35 to 39 year olds. Furthermore, average age of initiation of drug use is 18 years and more prevalent among the lower and lower middle classes of the society [4].

Educated Youth and Un-Employment: An Indian Perspective

Creating jobs for young people is a major challenge around the world, which has been further exacerbated by the global financial crisis. In this broader context, this paper presents a profile of youth employment and unemployment in India, which has the world’s largest youth population. Young Indians face major barriers because of poverty and low levels of human capital. Though educational attainment has risen in recent years, gaining a foothold in the labour market remains elusive for many young Indians. In rural and urban areas, young males are usually employed in casual jobs, while their female counterparts tend to be self -employed. Although a large proportion of young rural women are employed in agriculture, rural males are increasingly turning to the non -farm sector. Among young women, social conditions play an important role in determining labour force participation. In response to these challenges, policies should address the lack of productive employment opportunities for youth. While skills development is crucial, these initiatives should be supplemented by more comprehensive programmes that target the most vulnerable and disadvantaged youth.

Domestic Terrorism and Democratic Regime Types

Using logistic regression on the 36 democracies studied in Lijphart's Patterns of Democracy, we find statistically significant correlations between the index of consensus democracy and a higher incidence of fatal domestic terror incidents in the period 1985–2010. We further find that the risk of fatal terrorist attacks is almost six times higher in majoritarian democracies than in their consensus counterparts, and that this indicator is stronger than factors such as economic development and a large youth population and levels of urbanisation.

Is it that we are afraid to ask? A scoping review about sons and daughters of foster parents

Research on foster care focuses almost exclusively on maltreated youth and, to a lesser extent, on foster parents. There is very limited information about the experiences and outcomes of the sons and daughters of parents who choose to foster. The objective of this scoping review was to systematically identify and describe existing empirical research on sons and daughters of foster parents as a beginning effort at understanding this large but understudied population of children and youth. A comprehensive search was conducted that included four key sources: scholarly databases, hand-searches of reference lists, Google Scholar, and personal communications with key foster care stakeholders from North America, South America, Europe, and Australia. All empirical studies within samples that were comprised of sons and daughters of foster parents were included. Over 5500 articles were screened for inclusion. After removing the studies that were not about sons and daughters of foster parents, articles that did not match the inclusion criteria, articles that could not be located, and duplicates, there were 46 articles that met the inclusion criteria describing 39 different studies. An analysis of these indicates that: this literature is in the early stages of knowledge development; interviews/focus groups dominate data collection methods; nonprobability samples are almost always used; even basic demographic data is scarce; and the relationships among and between all participants in the fostering process likely to affect the quality of the fostering experience. As the first scoping review on sons and daughters of foster parents, this study describes much of the known research about this sub-population within foster homes. The results indicate that, more than a century after the first foster homes were established, we are still in the dark ages with respect to the experiences of this sub-population. This article provides a resource for researchers and practitioners to further develop this neglected area of child welfare services.

The Effect of Youth Demographics on Violence: The Importance of the Labor Market

Recent uprisings in the Middle East have increased interest in the roots of moderate as well as severe political and social conflicts. One popular explanation for upticks in violence is the bulge, the presence of disproportionately large youth cohorts. We refine that model using a panel dataset that includes more countries and years than previous literature and implement new measurement techniques to capture the relationship between large youth populations and violence. Contrary to prior literature, we find that the mere presence of a bulge is not enough to generate violence, but instead the causal roots of violence lie in the pressure youth cohorts exert on the total labor force. We use a new variable, the Youth Risk Factor (the ratio of the youth population to the total labor force), to measure the stress youth cohorts exert on labor markets, and find a significant and large effect on violence. These results have policy implications for countries that currently face large youth cohorts and help explain why conventional policy measures such as increasing educational access are likely not the answer to reducing violence. Language: en