Youthful Views
Oxford Brookes University (Gipsy Lane Campus)
Inspiring Change - Japan's Youth Civic Engagement View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Rhea Gumasing
In 2018, the Japanese government lowered the voting age from 20 to 18, and this has been viewed to have a potential influence in civic engagement and in the country’s political landscape. The study considers the extent of civic engagement among young adults in Japan, specifically in terms of their behaviors: cognitive (gaining information about politics or social movements), affective (joining political groups or supporting advocacies), and psychomotor (examining the mechanisms of civic engagement or the conditions that could further young adult engagement). The study is focused on young adults aged 18-29 based in the Kanto and Kansai Regions due to the areas’ high density of young adult population. Snowball sampling from universities and professional civic organizations in these areas is used. Further, to unpack the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor behaviors of the respondents, key informant interviews to stakeholders of institutions dealing with young adults in Japan is included.
Where Is the Joy? Reframing Children and Childhoods in Residential Childcare View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Andrew Burns
Much of the literature and discourse around children in residential care is framed in terms of trauma, recovery, and resilience and the ways in which these things can be addressed or fostered. While the importance of play is discussed and used in this field, joy seems to be somewhat absent in the conversation. What difference does it make to our thinking and our practice if we reframe the debate around the concept of joy? Drawing on data from an ethnographic research project (participant observation, qualitative interviews, and play-based methods) in a residential setting in Scotland, we argue that joy is important to healthy development and that framing the conversations we have about children in this way affects how we think and act in relation to them. Children in residential care are not just victims of past experiences, they are often masters in the art of joy and of drawing others into their joyful experiences. Following work on positive emotions, we argue that repeated experiences of joy provide opportunities for children to ‘broaden and build’ their resources for survival. Moreover, the shift in emphasis brings the children and their childhoods into focus rather than their trauma.
Addressing Child Welfare Issues in Ghana: The Need for a Public Health Approach View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Hadih Deedat, Jerry John Nkrumah
Various estimates in Ghana put the prevalence of physical and emotional abuse between 12.4% to 44.4% of children, and the prevalence of sexual abuse between 2.4% and 6.5% of children under age 17 (Investing in Children Earns Huge Dividends, 2015). About 650,00 Ghanaians suffer from severe mental health disorders and over two million Ghanaians suffer from moderate to mild mental health disorders (Harvard Global Health Institute, 2020). Adjorlolo et al. (2017) found evidence of childhood maltreatment at the child, caregiver, household, and community levels in Ghana, and concluded that childhood maltreatment significantly predicted, and accounted for, significant variance in depression, self-efficacy, and life satisfaction, as well high depression scores among Ghanaian children. Despite these grave concerns, addressing child maltreatment in Ghana has yet to gain the full attention it needs. This ongoing mixed-methods study seeks to establish whether primary prevention approaches are utilized to address child maltreatment in Ghana. Preliminary findings indicate that child maltreatment in Ghana is addressed from a reactionary/secondary approach, and factors such as cultural norms and practices, insufficient funding, lack of training of child welfare workers, and disjointed governmental efforts contribute to a lack of primary prevention approaches to mitigate child maltreatment in Ghana.
