Transition Literature Research Articles

Organizing School-to-Work Transition Research from a Sustainable Career Perspective: A Review and Research Agenda

Abstract A successful school-to-work transition is crucial to an individual’s initial entry into the labor market and overall sustainable career development. Scholarly interest in how emerging adults (i.e., late teens to late 20s) can achieve a successful transition to work has grown considerably, stemming from various disciplines, such as educational sciences, psychology, sociology, and economics. These disciplines have all produced valuable knowledge, yet, they mostly exist as separate silos, without clear integration. To create an overview of the literature, we systematically reviewed school-to-work transition literature and used a sustainable career lens to organize it. Based on 365 articles from the past 28 years, our review findings show that there are different conceptual and theoretical approaches to studying school-to-work transitions. We subsequently organize these perspectives into antecedents categorized into the sustainable career perspective’s person, context, and time dimensions. Moreover, we categorize school-to-work transition outcomes as proximal and more distal outcomes related to happiness, health, and productivity indicators. Finally, we reflect on the implications of our review article and suggest ways forward for conceptualizing and theorizing modern school-to-work transitions, along with an agenda for future research.

Experiences of UK-based adult transition services for interstitial lung disease in childhood: "There's a lot less cushioning".

Interstitial lung disease in childhood (chILD) is rare and no longer purely a childhood issue as many survive into adulthood, and so have to transition from pediatric to adult healthcare services. Transition is a significant life event that has the potential to impact on physical and mental health outcomes. The European Respiratory Society (ERS) statement on chILD transition highlighted the lack of standardised transition services for chILD transition resulting in a haphazard process. This qualitative study explores how young people and parents in the United Kingdom experienced transition from paediatric to adult healthcare services for chILD. Participants (n = 7) were recruited from chILD patient organisations and online communities. We focused on the experience of transition exploring if there were any information packs or support provided for the transition. Such support may be generic, such as "Ready Steady Go" which provides a systematic approach to transition and disease-specific literature. These latter have not been developed for ILD. Data were analysed by constructivist grounded theory. We present a lived experience of transition with themes of lack of transition preparation and planning, challenges of adapting to adult services, and a changing healthcare scene. Due to the complexity of chILD, parents discussed their need to remain, in part, as an advocate for the young person. Respondents provided recommendations for how transition could be improved along with tips for young people who are new to the transition process, which include educating oneself about the condition, learning medical terminology, and reaching out for support.

How eco‐control systems enhance carbon performance via low‐carbon supply chain collaboration? The moderating role of organizational unlearning

AbstractDespite the increasing awareness of eco‐control systems (ECS), whether and how a firm's deployment of ECS affect carbon performance is not known. Drawing on organizational learning theory, this study investigates how a firm's implementation of ECS enhances carbon performance via low‐carbon supply chain collaboration, and examines the moderating effect of organizational unlearning. To verify these hypotheses, we conduct hierarchical regression analyses using survey data from 297 Chinese manufacturers. Our results indicate that both supplier and customer low‐carbon collaborations mediate the impact of ECS on carbon performance. In addition, organizational unlearning strengthens the impact of ECS on customer low‐carbon collaboration, but weakens the impact of ECS on supplier low‐carbon collaboration. This study extends the digital transition and sustainability literature by unpacking the “black box” of transforming ECS into carbon performance and considering the contingency role of organizational unlearning. Our findings provide managers with new digital technologies to improve low‐carbon supply chain management and guide governments to appropriately extend policies that accelerate the manufacturing industry's transition to sustainability.

A scoping review of the use of theory in positive youth development and athlete transition literature

ABSTRACT The psychosocial development of young people in sports settings continues to be a popular area of study. Researchers examining youth athletes may draw on developmental theories from broader fields of psychology when choosing which psychosocial outcomes to study. However, it is currently unclear which theories inform youth sport research, and how these theories have been used. Therefore, a scoping review of the literature in positive youth development and youth athlete transitions in sport was conducted to investigate the use of theory in these areas. Two databases were systematically searched (APA PsychINFO and SportDiscus) and 10,453 abstracts were screened for inclusion in the review. Information was extracted from 207 articles and dissertations. Results indicated that the most-used theories included Ecological Theories of Human Development, (Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. University Press) and Self-Determination Theory (Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268.). Theories were most often used in peripheral ways to contextualise or discuss research findings (Sandelowski, (1993). Theory unmasked: The uses and guises of theory in qualitative research. Research in Nursing & Health, 16(3), 213–218.). The use of theory more centrally (e.g. theory testing) was less common. In the future, researchers could draw on theories more fully to guide their hypotheses, examine whether non-developmental theories are appropriate to use with different populations, and ensure that research in youth sport is informed by theoretical progress in developmental psychology.

“I earned the right to build the next American car”: How autoworkers and communities confront electric vehicles

Recent climate and infrastructure legislation in the United States emphasizes the accelerated manufacture and deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) as a major decarbonization strategy. The implications of this transition toward EVs on those who have traditionally worked within the automotive industry and surrounding communities have yet to be evaluated in the literature. It is unclear whether the move to EVs will create non-union positions that are hourly, temporary, and lower-paid. Through 67 focus groups across six deindustrializing cities in the American Midwest, we bring analytical tools from cultural sociology into the Just Transitions literature to examine how autoworkers, former autoworkers, managers, and community members imagine the future of the EV transition. Our findings underscore a marked divergence between the people who assemble cars and the people who manage workers or are part of communities that may benefit from new technologies. Managers and community members expressed confidence in the automobile industry's history of agility and ability to “bounce back” from challenges that confront it. In contrast, autoworkers held deep skepticism about the transition to EVs, on issues ranging from access, usefulness, and infrastructure, with many believing that the technology itself is over-hyped, not appropriate for consumers' needs, and merely a political charade. Workers suspect that their past contributions will be forgotten and express suspicion about the green energy transition. Our findings underscore the need to consider how differently situated groups imagine the future costs and benefits of energy transitions in order to effectively build coalitions across civil society, workers, and government.

“Seeing the day-to-day situation”: A grounded theory of how persons living with dementia and their family caregivers experience the hospital to home transition and beyond

Most older adults with dementia live at home, they primarily receive care provided by family members and friends. Given the decline in memory and other cognitive functions, there to be higher rates of touch points with the health system for those living with dementia. Evidence has shown that these care transitions mark critical changes in the lives of older people, including significant and far-reaching changes to family caregivers. Therefore, it is imperative that complex social processes enacted by persons with dementia and their family caregivers in response to care transitions be more thoroughly explained. This study took place in Canada between 2019 and 2021 and adopted a constructivist grounded theory design. Twenty-five people participated in 20 interviews: 4 people living with dementia and 21 caregivers. We report on six concepts grounded in the data that are linked to a core process engaged in by the participants throughout the care transition journey and beyond: Seeing the day-to-day situation. This study contributes theoretically to the care transition literature by making explicit not only the visible work done by patient-caregiver days during the care transition journey, but it has also illuminated the ongoing processes engaged in by caregivers who are navigating the health and social care systems with their family member living with dementia. During the care transition, and beyond, the caregiver is forced to take over and connect the dots. Even though the caring experience is fraught with traumatic and very challenging situations, for many caregivers, they rise above and can reconcile their suffering with a desire to help their family member and others who may be going through similar experiences. This theory provides a foundation on which to develop theory-driven interventions that focus on support the patient-caregiver dyad during care transitions.

Addressing Health Care Transition Competencies in Nurse Practitioner Education

Coordinating health care transition across care settings is a national core competency for nurse practitioner education. Caring for children and youth with special health care needs requires a collaborative approach to transition from a child-centered to an adult-focused care model. Adding this content is challenging, given the gaps in the health care transition literature and inconsistent faculty expertise. This report describes one university’s innovative quality improvement project aimed at developing competency in health care transition for children and youth with special health care needs among nurse practitioner students. The design, implementation, and evaluation of teaching strategies that resulted in significant knowledge gain for students are reported.

Learning and diffusion of knowledge in clean energy communities

Clean energy communities (CEC) represent emerging socio-technical systems that offer a suitable alternative to non-sustainable energy production and consumption. Thus, CECs cultivate new knowledge of clean energy use and diffuse it among their members as well as interested publics outside the CECs. This paper aims to contribute to the rather limited literature on the role of learning and knowledge in energy transitions in general and CECs’ knowledge circulation and learning in particular. The paper presents findings about the knowledge development and learning settings within CECs that provide the ways of cultivating knowledge within CECs and ways of disseminating this knowledge outside the CECs for potentially influencing wider social change. This research contributes to the energy transition literature by focusing on the overlooked perspective of learning and knowledge dissemination as an important part of a niche-innovation setting.

Transnational sensemaking narratives of highly skilled Canadian immigrants' career change

PurposeThe authors answer calls for research on the experiences of international professionals' career transitions by investigating how highly skilled immigrants make sense of their career changes in the host country's labor market.Design/methodology/approachThe authors report on a qualitative, inductive and elaborative study, drawing on sensemaking theories and career transitions literature and nine semi-structured reflective interviews with highly skilled Canadian immigrants.FindingsThe authors identified four career change narratives: mourning the past, accepting the present, recreating the past and starting fresh. These narratives are made sense of in a transnational context: participants contended with tensions between past, present and future careers and between relevant home and host country factors affecting their career decisions. Participants who were mourning the past or recreating the past identified more strongly with their home country professions and struggled to find resources in Canada. In accepting the present and starting fresh, participants leveraged host country networks to find career opportunities and establish themselves and their families in the new environment.Originality/valueA transnational ontology emphasizes that immigrants' lives are multifaceted and span multiple national contexts. The authors highlight how the tensions between the home and host country career contexts shape immigrants' sensemaking narratives of their international career change. The authors encourage scholars and practitioners to take a transnational contextual approach (spatial and temporal) to guide immigrants' career transitions and integration into the new social environment.

The politics of intermediation in transitions: Conflict and contestation over energy efficiency policy

This study investigates transition intermediation in energy efficiency regulation for buildings and light vehicles in Australia by using an analytical framework that draws on transition literature and the multiple streams approach (MSA) from policy studies. By focusing on Australian cases, this study examines required functions of transition intermediaries in a highly politicised context in which sustainability transitions are contested to improve an understanding of transition-oriented policy processes, including policy failures. The findings highlight the role of transition intermediaries that brought knowledge capacity into policy processes, advocated for new policy visions, and built consensus on policy proposals. The analysis suggests that the functional influence of transition intermediaries is particularly important when there is conflict among organised interests. In doing so, this study offers new insight into how transition intermediation is shaping the dynamics of energy transitions in politicised contexts.

Not In Service

Transit services provide multiple economic, educational, health, environmental, and social benefits. Despite these benefits, rural communities face barriers in establishing and maintaining transit services. Understanding these barriers is a critical step for planners and decision makers to assist in developing solutions. This paper presents the results of a content analysis of rural transit and mobility literature designed to create a typology of the barriers rural communities face in establishing and maintaining transit systems. Seven categories of barriers facing rural transit systems were identified: (1) demographic factors and ridership; (2) socio-cultural aspects of transit; (3) the natural and built environment; (4) local costs of operation and sources of revenue; (5) local governance and jurisdiction; (6) local economic structure; and (7) external funding programs. However, while this typology can inform the planning of rural transit systems, the literature review also revealed significant gaps in our understanding, particularly surrounding the range of rural places in Canada.

Local understandings and global challenges: exploring sense of place in sustainability transitions

The sustainability transitions literature acknowledges the importance of place for building a more sustainable world. Although some researchers have studied place analytically and made contributions toward developing sustainable communities across the globe, and others have directly discussed the structural aspects of places, the sustainable transitions literature has not fully reconciled place specifics with their implications for sustainability. This research explores how members from the small community of Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada, link their sense of place to their understanding of sustainability and considers the implications of this for sustainability transitions. Through an interdisciplinary, mixed methods approach, this work develops three propositions regarding sustainability as it relates to sense(s) of place. First, we found that within the Campobello community, sustainability was linked directly to individuals’ senses of place, place identities, and place attachments. Second, we found that there were slight variations in islanders’ concepts of sustainability related to these place-related constructs. Third, we found that although this community’s sustainability conversations were dominated by place-specific rather than global sustainability discourse, this was not always the case. As a result, the importance of more deeply exploring the normative nature of sustainability transitions is intensified. Understanding how place specifics connect with views of sustainability in a small island community allows us to deeply explore the role of place in sustainability transitions.

요구분석을 통한 외국인 학부생 대상 <고전문학사> 수업 내용 설계와 개선 방안

Objectives The purpose of this study is to propose a lesson improvement plan for <Korean Classical Literature History> considering the level and requirements of foreign undergraduates.
 Methods To this end, at the beginning of the semester, the educational priorities were identified by measuring the required and current levels of foreign undergraduate students majoring in Korean language and literature at Korean universities. Then, by applying this priority, the current level of the learners was measured again after the class was conducted for one semester.
 Results First of all, we reviewed the contents of the Korean course and the prior research, and selected the educational goals and contents of the <Korean Classical Literature History> class for foreign undergraduates. At the beginning of the semester, the current and necessary levels of foreign undergraduates were investigated and the requirements and educational priorities were extracted. Reflecting these results, classes were designed and applied to classes by increasing the proportion of “late medieval literature” and “middle-modern transition literature classes.”
 Conclusions A survey of the current level and recognition level at the end of the semester confirmed that the level of understanding and recognition of education has increased. Finally, based on the class examples and the results of the questionnaire, a plan to improve the class for foreign undergraduates was presented.

An overview of the Nordic Battery Belt: an emerging network for cooperation within the Nordic battery cluster

There is an increasing global demand for batteries in the decarbonisation process and an attempt to increase its production within Europe, thereby reducing the dependency on the Asian market. Consequently, the battery industry cluster is emerging in the Nordic region with the requisite raw materials for battery production in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The industry will encounter medium- and long-term challenges in its supply value chain due to the envisaged transport connectivity issues in the region, especially as the industry begins experiencing growth. Regional networks will play a key role in mitigating these challenges by providing a space for cooperation among actors; however, how regional networks address these transport connectivity issues still needs to be explored. This paper introduces results from a qualitative study that adopts the network approach in examining the nature and the role of a novel network within the Nordic battery cluster. They show that the Nordic Battery Belt (NBB) is an emerging cross-border regional network established to proactively identify the prevailing and the envisaged connectivity challenges within the Nordic region. The NBB, therefore, contributes to the development of logistical strategies and inventories for sustainable and cost-effective transport systems, which will support the battery industry’s supply chain and reduce the industry’s carbon footprints. Overall, the paper advances the understanding of networks and their role in the regional energy transitions literature viz-a-viz the battery industry.

Selecting technologies to engage in sustainability transitions—A multi‐stakeholder perspective

AbstractGiven the need for systemic changes to reach a sustainability transition from a fossil‐based toward a bio‐based economy, it is crucial to align different actors' expectations along the value chain when developing and commercializing sustainability‐oriented technologies (SOTs). To analyze what different actors along the value chain look for when selecting SOTs, this study draws upon a group concept mapping approach based on a group discussion and a subsequent sorting and rating process of selection criteria. Applied to the case of the bio‐based economy, this study seeks to aggregate the perceptions of four different stakeholder groups along the value chain, that is, (1) agricultural and feedstock, (2) (bio)chemical, (3) consumer industries, and (4) consultancies and networks. We derive 11 different categories subsuming 59 criteria that have been perceived as relevant when selecting SOTs. Results show that selection criteria related to the future competitiveness, the public acceptance, and the sustainability aspects of the technology are perceived as highly relevant for most actors when selecting SOTs. Further, we summarize the 11 categories into four dimensions involving (1) market environment and viability, (2) corporate strategy and technology integration, (3) capabilities and knowledge exchange, and (4) institutional and regulatory frames related criteria. We contribute to sustainability transition literature by providing, first, a conceptual framework for relevant selection criteria of SOTs from a value chain spanning perspective; and second, areas of coherence versus noncoherence in technology evaluation across different value chain actors allowing targeted support initiatives to facilitate the technology transfer in the context of sustainability transitions.

Review: Irish Literature in Transition, 1830–1880, edited by Matthew Campbell

Review: <i>Irish Literature in Transition, 1830–1880</i>, edited by Matthew Campbell

Exploring researcher’ roles in collaborative spaces supporting learning in environmental assessment in Sweden

Learning is fundamental to the practice and effectiveness of environmental assessment. This paper provides new empirical insights into how researchers engage in collaboration with practitioners and the learning outcomes that this provides. Furthermore, a typology of researcher roles is provided to aid researchers in having a dialogue and navigating tensions and potentials by adopting different roles. This paper builds on researchers' engagement in three cases related to Swedish environmental assessment (EA) and planning practice. The analytical framework is brought in from the sustainability transition literature on process-oriented researcher roles.The results show that the researchers adopted several roles to provide knowledge and solutions but also to be a critical voice and support practitioner reflection. Furthermore, the work required reflexivity. It was significant that the researchers actively intervened and moved between roles to adapt to shifting needs. The processes contributed to learning in forms of reprioritisations, new routines and solutions implemented in practice. Furthermore, the process contributed to new understandings, empowerment and increased capacity among participants, e.g. through enhanced collaboration and stronger relations across disciplinary boundaries as well as enhanced knowledge and practical experience of EA key features.

Pinning it down? Measuring innovation for sustainability transitions

Sustainability transitions require shifts in multiple social systems, practices, and institutions. Different innovation perspectives are essential for achieving and understanding transitions. They range from actor-oriented (organizational innovation management, regional innovation ecosystems) to mode-oriented (responsible innovation, mission-driven innovation) to process-oriented (social innovation) perspectives. For sustainability transitions to be governed, we need a better understanding of how the relevant contributions of innovations can be measured. In this article, we review the status of measurement across the different innovation perspectives. We find that measurement status becomes weaker as we move from actor-oriented to process-oriented innovations. To address this shortcoming, we then develop a conceptual approach for measuring social innovation. Thereby, we integrate organizational innovation capacities and regional contexts with the transformational elements of social innovation. We discuss how such an integrated and multi-level approach to measurement enhances our understanding of social innovations and, in particular, their contributions to sustainability transitions. We contribute to the sustainability transitions literature by tying it to different innovation perspectives and by conceptualizing new innovation mechanisms that drive transformations. We add to social innovation theory by specifying its role in change toward sustainability and advancing it to a measurable construct relevant to governance and policymaking.

Sustainability innovations: a proposal for an analytical framework and its empirical application in the Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve

Sustainability innovations influence societal transformations through the development of new products, processes, organizations, behaviors or values. Although various research approaches have tackled technological innovations in the last few decades, the specificities and enabling conditions of individual sustainability innovations remain rather unknown. We therefore propose an analytical framework, built on learning from the social–ecological systems and transitions literature. The sustainability innovation framework features four dimensions: context, actors, process and outcomes, which are detailed in 31 variables. We use the sustainability innovation framework to analyze two case studies selected in the Schorfheide-Chorin Biosphere Reserve, Germany. The first refers to technological and organizational innovation in mobility, while the second relates to social and organizational innovation in agriculture. As a result, we highlight commonalities and differences in enabling conditions and variables between the two cases, which underpin the influence of trust, commitment, resource availability, experimenting, learning, advocating, and cooperating for innovation development. The cases further demonstrate that sustainability innovations develop as bundles of interdependent, entangled novelties, due to their disruptive character. Their specificity thereby resides in positive outcomes in terms of social–ecological integrity and equity. This study therefore contributes to transitions studies via a detailed characterization of sustainability innovations and of their outcomes, as well as through a generic synthesis of variables into an analytical framework that is applicable to a large and diverse range of individual sustainability innovations. Further empirical studies should test these findings in other contexts, to pinpoint generic innovation development patterns and to develop a typology of sustainability innovation archetypes.

Weak states, fast transitions? Exploring the role of actors, governance capacity, and tensions in Indian energy politics

There has been a substantial growth in the Sustainability Transitions literature in the last few years. However, most of it has come from, and has analyzed, the Global North with less attention to the Global South countries, where institutions and governance mechanisms are weaker. This paper explores the unfolding of transition dynamics through two case studies from India. It finds that because of weak governance capacity, the role of state is complex and not limited to nurturing niches, the dynamics of political conflict are not confined to niche vs. regime but happen at novel spaces like niche-regime, and the role of non-state actors like judiciary, driven by their own political vision, assumes importance. The study thus argues for more attention to the complex and multi-faceted transition politics in the Global South countries, particularly elaborating upon the role of state and its interaction with non-state actors.