#6751 WHY WE NEED TO ACHIEVE AN INTERNATIONALLY AGREED AGE DEFINITION OF THE ‘NEET’ GROUP

Internationally, significant variation exists between the use and application of the term ‘NEET’ (not in education, employment or training) to define levels of economic and social exclusion among groups of young people. It depends on the situation, and/or the context in which the term is applied. The term draw attention to unacceptably high levels of youth unemployment and economic inactivity, as well as the scarring consequences this may have on young people’s lives. The use of the term ‘NEET’ has faced a number of international challenges, including the age cohort to which the term is applied. This varies from one organisation to another, and the specific target group assigned and the variability of meaning of the term ‘NEET ‘itself. This paper aims to provide a review of the shifting and changing age cohort included within the NEET category since its inception in the 1990s. The study utilises an Entity-Related Diagram to demonstrate the international variation that now exists. Recommendations are made in order to maximise the deployment of a standardised definition of NEET, in order to achieve some commonality of understanding about how we measure and define ‘NEEThood’, and crucially, in developing and applying policy responses to address their needs.

Mining the Truth: Representation of Land and Land Redistribution in Zimbabwe in the Daily News

The aim of this article is to scrutinise the way in which the concepts of land and land redistribution were discussed in the private media in Zimbabwe during the Zimbabwe land reform exercise – dubbed the “third Chimurenga” – that took place in the period 2000–2008. This study makes use of the framing theory. The framing theory is an adaptation of the agenda-setting theory and it talks about the way in which the media diverts the attention of audiences from the importance of an issue to what it wants to project; it places the issue in a field of meaning. This article firstly argues that although the ZANU-PF-led government stated that land was going to be redistributed to the landless black majority, the private media in general and the Daily News in particular reported that it was the black minority (the elite class) who obtained most of the land at the expense of the poor and middle-class black majority. Secondly, it argues that the land redistribution exercise was not meant to correct colonial land imbalances but was instead used by the ZANU-PF-led government as a means to avenge the referendum which they had lost in February 2000. The referendum was perceived as intending to change the Constitution in favour of the ZANU-PF. Lastly, this article argues that land, according to the Daily News, was supposed to be given to people (regardless of their race) who were making or going to make the land productive and not the poor, landless black majority. In order to authenticate the above claims and arguments, a number of the Daily News stories – purposively sampled during the period – will be used as examples.

Youth Out-Migration in Nigeria: The Dual Role of Social Media as a Cause and Solution

The phenomenon of migration has been recorded to be a part of human history. Over the years, scholars have averred that people migrate for different reasons. While some do so for economic reasons and in search of greener pastures, others do so to escape either the wrath of the society in which they live or the government owing to their actions and way of life. This phenomenon is not restricted according to gender and age, as both males and females, old and young, are involved. Of late, it has been discovered that there is a huge desire among youths, including those who have jobs, to exit the country, thereby leading to a massive emigration of youths out of Nigeria. Although it is an undeniable fact that the economy of the country is in shambles, which leads to a desire to search for greener pastures elsewhere, the trend in the youths’ desire and rush to leave Nigeria transcends this sole reason. Given the revelations by migrant returnees, it has been discovered that social media platforms play a pivotal role in both stirring and dampening this desire. Utilising a secondary data analysis in addition to a systematic literature review, this study explored the contribution of social media, especially Facebook, to the desperation shown by Nigerian youth for out-migration and how various social media platforms can be used for economic benefit in order to dissuade the youth from doing so. The study recommends that Nigerian youths should realise that the essence of social media meant to foster human interaction and healthy communication is gradually turning into an abode of misinformation that has embedded youths’ lives within the discourse of youth out-migration in Nigeria, as anecdotal evidence as well as empirical evidence has shown. The study informs policy, society, practice and theory within the discourse of youth out-migration and social media studies.

Youth Political Participation, Good Governance and Social Inclusion in Nigeria

As the Nigerian population continues to increase, so does the number of youth. The population of youth (18–35 years) in Nigeria is 52.2 million (i.e., about 28% of the total population), which is more than the entire population of Ghana, London and Benin Republic put together. In spite of the prospects that this number holds, young people in Nigeria are largely marginalised from governance, leaving them helpless about their continued exclusion. This is evidenced in the low percentage of youth who hold political and leadership positions in the country. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between youth political participation, good governance and social inclusion in Nigeria. Using a quantitative approach, 1,208 youth aged 18–35 selected from Nairaland participated in the study. Data gathered was analysed using the Spearman correlation coefficient and the result indicates that there is a significant positive relationship between youth political participation and good governance in Nigeria (r s, (1206) = .615, p < .001), and that there is a significant positive association between youth political participation and social inclusion in Nigeria (r s, (1206) = .875, p < .001). It was recommended that government should create Leadership and Democratic Institutes [LDI] across the states of the federation and establish an Online Leadership Orientation Agency [OLOA] to utilise various social networking sites to provide free leadership courses, webinars, and orientation on the art of governance and the promotion of social inclusion among the youth.

[Un]blurring the Challenges Facing Post-Graduate Students in South African Universities: An Afrocentric Youth Perspective

South African senior academics do not accentuate the importance of the “publish or perish” mantra as required for young emerging scholars. This continued unfair and/or unjust practice is perpetuated further by a lack of attention to the problem, including less interest in research country-wide by some senior academics. It is in this context that—where this injustice is reported—it is often undermined and/or side-lined, or even critiqued. This paper is revisiting all of the various challenges faced by young emerging scholars in South African universities. Due to the complicated nature of the conduct of research in South African universities, the author did not pin-point any university by name, as this is the practical thorn that is evident country-wide and has been a systemic, strategic instigation to side-line emerging scholars in producing knowledge through various methods of gate-keeping. It is also delaying post-graduate students in the system for them to not see the importance of the continuation of post-graduate studies. Afrocentricity has been deployed as a theoretical lens, together with unstructured interviews and document reviews to collect data.

Epidemiology and Phenomenology of Compulsive Use of Technology: The Technological Saturation of South African Youth

Modern technological advancements are increasingly reconstituting virtually every facet of social interaction. While technology plays a significant role in many people’s lives, it appears to pose interminable drawbacks, especially among the youth. This article seeks to go beyond emphasising the utopia wrought by these disruptive innovations, by looking at how technologically saturated South Africa’s youth are. This study took a qualitative approach. Focus group interviews encapsulated the viewpoints of the target population selected from four multipurpose community centres in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa. Grohol’s model of pathological internet use was found relevant to determine the compulsive use of technology by the youth in South Africa. Data analysis was done using thematic categorisation. The findings show that the youth have adopted a variety of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for different purposes. Findings also reveal that technology advancements not only offer an easier and quicker way to share information, but also contribute to sociability by providing a way to communicate with distant friends and family. Notwithstanding the negative side of technology, ICTs have positive impacts on today’s youth, namely bringing people together as well as enhancing their social and educational abilities. However, if used without discretion, technology can create a less interactive generation. The youth seem to be so fixated on technology that it affects their social life. It can be concluded that South Africa’s youth are saturated by technology. However, this saturation comes with both negative and positive consequences; some have become technologically savvy while others seem to be negatively affected.

Framing of Land Ownership in The Herald Newspaper in Zimbabwe

The aim of this article is to critically unpack the frames through which the concept of land ownership was discussed in The Herald newspaper during the land reform exercise, also known as Third Chimurenga or “Fast Track Land Reform Exercise,” which was earnestly conducted in the period 2000–2008. The potential of the media in general, and The Herald newspaper in particular, to mould public opinion cannot be ignored. The article is guided by framing theory in its exploration of land ownership discourses in the Zimbabwean media. Framing theory refers to how the media packages and presents information to the public. Accordingly, the media highlights certain events and places them within a particular context to encourage or discourage certain interpretations. In this way, the media exercises a selective influence on how people view reality. This article argues that land, according to The Herald newspaper, belongs to the Black majority or native people of Zimbabwe, and ownership of land was legitimised generally through skin colour and place of birth. In this respect, The Herald newspaper took a positive stance toward the inevitability of the Land Reform Programme. However, it did not clearly state whether all Black people had equal access to the land or had the same right to own land. To demonstrate the above, two stories from The Herald newspaper, namely: “Land: Central to Liberation Struggle” (18 April 2005); and “Land Reform Pinnacle of the Struggle” (10 August 2004) were purposively sampled. Purposive sampling is a non-probability sampling technique used in selecting stories that have particular characteristics within a canon of newspaper stories that are of interest, and which will best enable the researcher to answer research questions. The two stories above were chosen since both focus on land ownership in Zimbabwe.

Ethics, Materialism and Higher Education: The Dilemma between Career and Social Goals

This article assesses the ways in which the shifting ethical perspectives of money-orientated learned individuals influence their approach towards family, career and societal bounds. For the purpose of this study, a descriptive study of 100 college students was undertaken at a leading university in north-western India by using self-administered questionnaires with stratified random sampling procedures. A principal component (factor) analysis using varimax rotation and K-means clustering were conducted. The findings indicated that consumption communicative senior poor students and lifestyle communicative young poor students have no materialistic career goals. A high prospect for integrated career and social development is a common expectation, providing the need to assess other variables affecting integrated career and social development. Ethnicity, academic discipline and gender are factors of perspective, incitement and prospects towards ethics, materialism and career and social goals. Social interaction in consumption or lifestyle also has a significant impact on materialistic career goals and integrated career and social development. By increasing communicativeness, the probability of having low materialistic career goals also increases. Materialistic career goals of students substantially influence their integrated career and social development. Social groupings and institutional gatherings may devise new ways to inculcate social and academic ethics among their affiliates. Institutional change in instilling values in staff behaviour can result in positive outcomes and a social lifestyle.

Youth Empowerment as a Pathway towards Attaining the Demographic Dividend in Sub-Saharan Africa: Evidence from Ghana

While empowerment of the youth in Ghana could enable them to make a more meaningful contribution to the economy, a myriad of challenges faces the youth during their transition from school into the employment sector and limits the realisation of their full potential. As a result, the recent and significant increase in the size of the youth population in Ghana cannot justifiably be romanticised as an obvious stepping stone towards the realisation of a demographic dividend. In this study, qualitative and quantitative research methods were deployed to carry out a cross-sectional survey that enabled a detailed exploration of the main challenges and opportunities facing the youth in Ghana. Some of the options for enabling greater youth empowerment in the country were also identified. The study established that unemployment, skills limitations, lack of access to finance, and poorly coordinated institutional structures for implementing youth empowerment policies and programmes are major barriers to youth empowerment in Ghana. We conclude that there is a need for more targeted interventions that address these challenges and leverage any evident opportunities available for increased youth empowerment before Ghana can confidently expect to reap a demographic dividend.

Effective Planning for Rural Development in A Democratic South Africa: The Prospects of Rural Cooperatives

This paper explores the potency of rural cooperatives for the effective planning and implementation of rural strategies to address poverty. Rural cooperatives function as a participatory approach that provides the potential to equip and empower people in rural areas with various skills. Hence, rural cooperatives represent the means and strategies to unshackle rural people from the vicious circle of poverty. The contestation about a deadlock of rural development has become pertinent in the recent and ongoing political transformation in South Africa. This paper is grounded on the social capital theory and its ideals. As such, it depends on a literature review for its premise, argument, crux and purpose, as well as drawing up results and conclusions. The paper gathers information in respect of various scholars’ notions on rural cooperatives and rural development from related articles, journals and books. The paper reveals that where the South African government is confronted and characterised by some form of upheaval and service delivery challenges, so rural cooperatives are fit to capacitate citizens to avoid depending on the government for scarce resources. The paper further reveals that rural cooperatives are deemed to ameliorate the long-standing patterns of developmental backlogs in almost all South African municipalities. The conclusion that can be made from this paper is that the authentic promotion of rural development in the formulation of a well-informed legislative framework, that is clear and unambiguous, can deal effectively with the challenges of rural cooperatives.