Janice E. Jones

Future Plans of Urban Youth: Influences, Perceived Barriers, and Coping Strategies

This study examines the academic and career goals set by urban youth as well as their perceived career barriers and the strategies they anticipate using to face these barriers. Nine adolescents in the 11th and 12th grades from two large, urban public schools in the Midwest were interviewed for this study. Students’ responses were analyzed using the consensual qualitative research method developed by Hill and colleagues. Seven domains were identified in participant responses, addressing participant ideas about both ideal and alternate career choices, the influences on their career choices, potential obstacles in their future, and methods for managing obstacles. Categories and subcategories are described and discussed and implications for practice and future research are offered.

Family Policies in Norway

Norway has become a liberal leader in family policies, gender equality, equal workforce participation, children’s rights and equality, and in supporting sexual equality. This has been supported by money from oil revenues, international involvement/engagement, and domestic policy shifts. While Norway is not perfect, it continues to push forward, such as with its Ombudsman for Children. The Directorate of Children, Youth and Family Affairs handles family policies in Norway. This department is responsible for developing family-life and cohabitation policies as well as legislation affecting children and families. Family affairs policy, family law, and gender equity policy are also managed by the directorate. Current issues impacting family policy in Norway are discussed in this chapter.

Family and Child Welfare in Norway: An Analysis of the Welfare State’s Programs and Services

Norway is one of the leading countries in the world pertaining to family and Child Welfare Services. While there is no umbrella term for family life education programs in place, there are numerous programs and services offered through the publicly funded health-care service system. The Ministry of Children, Equality, and Social Inclusion oversees family services in Norway (Bufetat, Organisasjon. An underlying agency, the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth, and Family Affairs (Bufdir, The Norwegian child welfare services, oversees services pertaining to families and children and is responsible for services relating to child welfare, family counseling, adoption, violence in close relationships, equality, and nondiscrimination. This chapter presents a summary of the child welfare and family programs and services provided by the Norwegian government as part of the public health-care scheme.

Perspectives on Apology and Reconciliaticon in South and Southeast Asia

This chapter focuses on perspectives on apology and reconciliation with the South and Southeast Asian region and in Asia Pacific more generally; it discusses factors associated with conflict resolution in the context of emerging societies with vested interests in economic growth and overcoming postwar challenges. A convenience sample of participants from India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka completed the Personal and Institutional Rights to Aggression and Peace Survey (PAIRTAPS) and provided qualitative responses concerning apology and reconciliation. Based on a grounded theory approach, themes were identified and analyzed. Nearly half the responses indicated that the potential of an apology to lead to reconciliation depends on factors such as the nature of the apology and further action by the former aggressor. In addition, the lead author discusses her personal experiences and interactions with the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) in its efforts to bring perpetrators of the Khmer Rouge genocide to justice as they relate to the pursuit of global peace, conflict resolution, social justice, and economic-political sustainability in South and Southeast Asia.

Perspectives on Achieving Peace in South and Southeast Asia

This chapter focuses on perceptions of the achievability of peace and the best ways to achieve peace expressed by 501 participants from seven countries in South and Southeast Asia. This chapter begins with a discussion of regional characteristics that may affect perceptions of peace, such as a history of colonization and the presence of relatively homogenous racial and religious subgroups within each country. Participants’ responses to two prompts were coded for agency, disengagement/humanitarian engagement, and prerequisites for peace. Generally, responses expressed by the participants were both agentic and engaged, meaning they expressed hope that peace can be achieved and described actions that can be taken to achieve peace. Many participants gave responses that emphasized interpersonal concepts and values (such as love, compassion, and understanding) as necessary for achieving peace. Interaction between groups was another commonly mentioned pathway toward achieving peace. These common themes reflect the needs of the region to build understanding and respect across subgroups with conflict-ridden pasts.

Definitions of Peace and Reconciliation in South and Southeast Asia

There are many factors that distinguish Southeast Asia from other parts of the world in regard to peace and reconciliation. The unique interplay and influence of factors, particularly cultural, socioeconomic, political, and historical factors, impact the people of this region. These factors not only influence each other, they ultimately impact how people view the risks of violence, the efficacy of nonviolence, and their response to adversity and conflict. Participants from seven different South and Southeast Asian countries responded to the Personal and Institutional Rights to Aggression and Peace Survey. Analysis of their definitions of peace and reconciliation revealed that a majority of the respondents focused on positive peace (prerequisites for and outcomes of peace) and a large majority (over 60 %) viewed reconciliation as a process rather than as an end state. Exploratory chi-square analyses revealed that a significantly larger proportion of females than males identified reconciliation as a process. Additionally, more females than males associated reconciliation with peace.

Perspectives on Protest in South and Southeast Asia

In democratic countries, civil society is provided with a constitutional right to peaceful assembly. However, this right, though universally defined and accepted, still needs to be understood based on experiences and beliefs of ordinary citizens. This chapter discusses perspectives on protest of ordinary citizens from seven countries in South and Southeast Asia. We begin by providing a background on protest, its description, and forms and then relate it to existing frameworks for studies of collective action. We also discuss recent historical protest movements in South and Southeast Asia. Analyses of qualitative survey responses indicated that prevailing views in the region are more pro-protest than anti-protest. Pro-protest themes included focused on protest as a way to achieve peace, as a socially sanctioned right, and as socially justified action. Women were more likely than men to view protest as socially justified while men were more likely than women to view protest as a socially sanctioned right. Also significantly more antiwar protestors than non-protestors participants displayed pro-social agency, personal initiative, and activism when responding to a scenario about police beating peaceful antiwar protestors.

Definitions of War, Torture, and Terrorism in South and Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is a region of the world located between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. There are many countries that comprise this region, but for the most part, we focus in this chapter on Laos, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia, Singapore, and Vietnam. This region has a complex history and complex current political structures. American naval strategists coined the term Southeast Asia in the 1940s, belying its increasing significance. War, political insurgencies, and colonization have all had an effect on the people of this region. In 2005, there were roughly 557 million people living in this region of the world (United States Census Bureau 2011).