Social science applications of sequence analysis have thus far involved the development of a typology on the basis of an analysis of one or two variables which have had a relatively low number of different states. There is a yet unexplored potential for sequence analysis to be applied to a greater number of variables and thereby a much larger state space. The development of a typology of employment experiences, for example, without reference to data on changes in housing, marital and family status is arguably inadequate. The paper demonstrates the use of sequence analysis in the examination of multivariable combinations of status as they change over time and shows that this method can provide insights that are difficult to achieve through other analytic methods. The data that are examined here provide support to intuitive understandings of clusters of common experiences which are both life course specific and related to socio-economic factors. Housing tenure is found to be of key importance in understanding the holistic trajectories that are examined. This suggests that life course trajectories are sharply differentiated by experience of social housing. Copyright 2007 Royal Statistical Society.

This paper presents and discusses evidence about the sport careers of representative samples of 31-37 year olds from the capital city and a comparator region in each of the three South Caucasus countries -Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. This is one of the few surveys to measure sport participation that allows change over time at the aggregate and individual levels to be distinguished. The evidence suggests that many differences in sport participation rates that are commonly attributed to circumstances and experiences after age 16 (higher education, for example) already exist at age 16, and that family cultures are the source of crucial predispositions to participate which have lasting effects. The evidence, from countries that up to 1991 shared the Soviet education and sport systems, also suggests that ethnic/national cultures that predate communism have outlived communism and are now a major explanation of inter-country differences in rates of sport participation in the South Caucasus. Finally, the evidence indicates that sport facilities do indeed make a difference, but only by enabling those who are predisposed to take part in sport.

This introductory article introduces the MYPLACE (Memory, Youth, Political Legacy and Civic Engagement) project, the findings of which are the basis of the articles in this volume. MYPLACE maps the relationship between political heritage, current levels and forms of civic and political engagement of young people in Europe, and their potential receptivity to radical and populist political agendas. In this introductory article, the implications of the project's three-way gaze -to the past, present and future -are explored by addressing three questions that run through contributions to this volume: What is politics, and why do many young people say they hate it? How does the past shape the present and the future? Are young people receptive to populist and radical right political agendas? The article outlines the distinctive case study approach to the project and its integrated mixed method design, detailing the common survey, interview, focus group and ethnographic research instruments employed in the project and the principles followed for the analysis of survey and qualitative research data.

The analysis of employment histories has been facilitated recently by advances in survey methodology, statistical processes and computing power. While much work has focused on transitions between states and time spent in one state, the potential of analysing a series of states (i.e. careers) has largely been ignored. A concentration on movement between two states, whilst allowing relevant contextual covariates to be controlled for, often ignores valuable data both prior to and after the episode in question. Analysis of extended sequences of employment states is better able to describe employment trajectories. Furthermore, comparison of sequences permits either allocation to theoretical categories, or the identification of latent groupings using cluster analysis. The resulting typology of careers can then be used in inferentially based analyses. This paper explores sequence analysis using Optimal Matching Analysis (OMA). OMA is explained in relation to one broad substantive issue: the relationship between employment trajectories and gender.

The study of young people has become a mainstay of social science. Education, employment, leisure, criminality, family life are all spheres within which the different experiences of young people have been examined. The principal tool for many of these studies has been a focus on transitions, looking at origins, journeys and destinations. The transition from school to work has been given the most attention, but increasingly there is interest in other life transitions such as (i) family development through relationships, marriage and children; and (ii) setting up a home outside that in which one was brought up. The focus on youth transitions has been found to be of use in both theoretical and policy developments. This paper reviews debates in the contemporary field of youth research and argues that only through taking a context‐specific transitional approach, focusing primarily on education and employment, can one fully understand and theorise the position of young people in society.