Youth Studies Australia vol.15 no.3
September 1996

Dreams and expectations: Young Australians' views of the future, by Richard Eckersley
Youth Studies Australia, v. 15 n.3 pp.11-17.
Young people's visions of the future offer an insight into their hopes and fears about life, and may have important implications for them personally and for society. In this article the author discusses the findings of the ASTEC Youth Partnership Study.

Researching youth: A practical guide, by Rob White, Liz McDonnell & Anita Harris
Youth Studies Australia, v.15 n.3 pp.18-25.
What does the research process actually involve? In this article the authors discuss their experiences of the 'nuts and bolts' issues of researching with young people - from the initial stages of designing a project to collecting data and processing the results. They look at specific problems such as the difficulties involved in using questionnaires and conducting interviews, and ethical issues of confidentiality and consent.

Striking a pose: Girls, cameras and deflecting the gaze, by Gerry Bloustien
Youth Studies Australia, v.15 n.3 pp.26-32.
What is it like to grow up female in the mid-1990s? The author observes ten teenage Adelaide girls filming themselves in order to tell the stories of their lives. Their use of the camera reveals fascinating insights into the construction of identity and a sense of self, and raises interesting questions about the relationship between 'reality' and the 'striking of poses' and what this means for young people at the end of the 20th century.

Contradictory knowings and women's sexuality by Suzanne Singh
Youth Studies Australia, v.15 n.3 pp.33-37.
In this study of young women's sexuality the author illustrates feminist sociologist Dorothy Smith's concept of 'bifurcation' which Smith argued occurred as a result of the contradictions that women experienced between their own lives and what the dominant sociological paradigm advocated as social reality. A small group of women's lived experiences of sexuality were compared to Anthony Giddens' textual account which stems from the conventional androcentric sociological paradigm. While Giddens claimed the sexual revolution of the 60s had been a liberating force for women, the lived accounts of the women in Singh's study revealed otherwise.

Transport for young people in a rural area: Patterns, problems and prospects, by Rosemary Green & John McDonald
Youth Studies Australia, v.15 n.3 pp.38-42.
Growing up in rural or regional Australia is not necessarily the bucolic experience many of us would have it be. Young people resident in rural areas are often socially disadvantaged in comparison with those living in urban environments. One factor contributing to this disadvantage is the difference in access to private and public transport. This article documents a study commissioned by Community Action for Youth, which surveys transport usage by youth in a rural area of Victoria with a view to identifying current problems and possible improvements.

Unemployment: A cause or consequence of delinquency?, by John B. Nash
Youth Studies Australia, v.15 n.3 pp.43-47.
Traditional criminological theory posits an almost unquestioned causal relationship between unemployment and juvenile delinquency. However, this review of longitudinal research shows that a much more murky relationship exists between the two. The author argues that the available research points to the need for early intervention aimed at alleviating the deprivation experienced by youth at risk of offending.

Disappointed, disadvantaged, disappeared: British reintegration project, by Bryan Merton
Youth Studies Australia, v.15 n.3 pp.48-49.
In the UK, as in Australia, more and more young people are dropping out of education and finding it difficult to establish their place in the labour market. In this article the author describes the first stages of a British project aiming to reintegrate disaffected young people in to the education, training and job sector.