Human sexuality involves sexual attraction to another person, which for the most part is to the opposite sex (heterosexuality), some to the same sex (homosexuality) or some having both (bisexuality) or not being attracted to anyone in a sexual manner (asexuality). Human sexuality is determined by many factors, like cultural, political, legal and philosophical aspects of life, but also morality, ethics, theology, spirituality and religion. Sexuality is as old as mankind and interest in sexual activity is very much related to the onset of puberty and the period of schooling. In this book, we have gathered papers from around the world in order to discuss issues of sexuality from an international perspective.

The debate on the social impact of information and communication technologies is particularly important for the study of adolescent life, because through their close association with friends and peers, adolescents develop life expectations, school aspirations, world views, and behaviors. This book presents an up-to-date review of the literature on youth sociability, relationship formation, and online communication, examining the way young people use the internet to construct or maintain their inter-personal relationships. Using a social network perspective, the book systematically explores the various effects of internet access and use on adolescents’ involvement in social, leisure and extracurricular activities, evaluating the arguments that suggest the internet is displacing other forms of social ties. The core of the book investigates the motivations for online relationship formation and the use of online communication for relationship maintenance. The final part of the book focuses on the consequences, both positive and negative, of the use of online communication, such as increased social capital and online bullying. Wired Youth is ideal for undergraduate and graduate students of adolescent psychology, youth studies, media studies and the psychology and sociology of interpersonal relationships.

This book addresses what teachers and school leaders from a dozen countries see as the social and emotional strengths, interests and needs of adolescents in their schools and communities; how they innovate their programs and practices to respond to their students’ lives. The book also describes how educators themselves benefit from social and emotional supports to be responsive. Rather than assume that there are universal themes in adolescents’ lives, the book is intended to illuminate the local, contextual, and powerful insights of educators daily working with students. In many intentional respects, each serves as an action research study with an effort to better the process and outcomes of their students’ growth and learning as well as to enrich the classroom. The chapters are organized by themes, ranging from challenges adolescents face in that particular locale to curriculum work that is project-based, transdisciplinary, and tied to the communities where the adolescents live. ‘The voices of adolescents, particularly with regard to their social and emotional development have been neglected in the literature. Thus, we know very little about their feelings and personal experiences as they progress through their schooling. A book such as this will be beneficial in terms of providing a contribution to this field, thereby increasing our understanding of the issues faced by adolescents across countries and cultures.’ Peggy L. Anderson, Ph.D., Metropolitan State University of Denver ‘The outstanding strength of this book is quite precisely its international scope: here is an anthology that lives up to the claims made by its title. Anyone interested in either adolescent development or Social and Emotional Learning in real world as opposed to abstract settings will appreciate the breadth of experience described.’ Mokhtar El Maouhal, Laboratoire de Recherche sur les Langues et la Communication

Think positive and not negative. For too long, the "deficiency" or "pathological" approach in understanding children and adolescents has been prevalent, but in recent years we have seen a greater interest in positive youth development programs with a shift from looking at the negative to turning the related programs and approach into something positive and highlighting the positive side of youth development. This has resulted in a focus on talents, strengths, interests and potential in order to facilitate a stronger and better youth development. Instead of viewing children and adolescents as "problems" or "issues" to be resolved, they are regarded as "resources" and "assets" to be developed. In particular, it is argued that it is important to nurture the developmental assets such as psychosocial skills in children and adolescents. The notion of positive youth development bears striking resemblance to the beliefs of Chinese medicine and holistic medicine, which maintains that when a person has inner strengths and talents, the chance of becoming ill will be reduced.