The virtue in youth civic participation

This paper provides a summary of our past and recent work on the questions of whether and how involvement in community service promotes civic and political development in youth. We focus not on the psychological attributes adolescents bring to service, but on the conditions which make the service experience an opportunity for discovering one\u27s relationship to ongoing value traditions toward society, its problems, and well-being. Our most recent work was centered on four specific issues. Using a quasi-experimental longitudinal design, we found that (1) school-based required service does not dampen enthusiasm in students who already favor service, whereas it generates interest in civic life in students with no prior service experience. Using a path model covering a 2-year period, we found also that (2) participation in challenging service led to a process in which contributions to a sponsoring organization eventuated in changes in the self, increased helpfulness, and ultimately to civic engagement. (3) We found further that adolescents with a clear sense of their identity chose to do challenging service which, in turn, sustained their clarity of self over a 2-year period. (4) Using a nationally representative sample of youth, we found that young adults of age 26 were more likely to have voted and to have done volunteer service when they did do service when they were in high school 8 years previously. It made no difference whether their service during high school was required or voluntary, thus, complementing the results of the first study. Our conclusion is that policy makers should not shy away from having youth participate in civic and political processes. The experience helps to frame civic identities which have lasting positive consequences. (DIPF/Orig.)Dieser Beitrag bietet einen Überblick über unsere bisherige Forschung zur Frage, ob und wie gemeinnützige Tätigkeit bürgerschaftliches und politisches Engagement bei Jugendlichen fördert. Dabei werden weniger die psychischen Dispositionen betrachtet, die Jugendliche dazu motivieren, gemeinnützige Tätigkeit aufnehmen. Vielmehr stehen die Bedingungen im Vordergrund, unter denen gemeinnützige Tätigkeit dazu beitragen kann, dass Jugendliche ihre Eingebundenheit in gesellschaftliche Prozesse entdecken. Unsere jüngere Forschung hat dabei vier Aspekte in den Mittelpunkt gerückt: (1.) Verpflichtende gemeinnützige Tätigkeit im Rahmen der High School-Zeit mindert nicht die Bereitschaft und Begeisterung Jugendlicher, sich freiwillig zu engagieren. Sie erzeugt vielmehr politisches Interesse bei Jugendlichen, die vor dem verpflichtenden Service nicht gemeinnützig tätig waren. In einer Längsschnittstudie fanden wir mittels Strukturgleichungsmodellen (2.), dass gemeinnützige Tätigkeit in direkter Interaktion mit bedürftigen Menschen in karitativen Organisationen zu einem veränderten Selbstbild, erhöhter Hilfsbereitschaft und zu politischer Sensibilisierung führt. Wir fanden (3.), dass Jugendliche mit einem konturierten Selbstbild eher herausfordernde gemeinnützige Tätigkeiten wählten, was ihrer Identitätsentwicklung nochmals förderlich war. (4.) An einem für die USA repräsentativen Jugend-Survey konnten wir zeigen, dass junge Erwachsene im Alter von 26 Jahren eher wählen gehen, wenn sie als Jugendliche gemeinnützig aktiv waren. Dies unabhängig davon, ob es sich dabei um verpflichtenden oder freiwilligen Service handelte. Unsere Schlussfolgerung ist, dass politische Entscheidungsträger gemeinnützige Tätigkeit Jugendlicher fördern sollten, weil Heranwachsenden die dabei gemachten Erfahrungen helfen, eine bürgerschaftliche Identität mit lang anhaltenden, positiven Wirkungen für die Demokratie zu entwickeln. (DIPF/Orig.

Sharp L^p bounds on spectral clusters for Lipschitz metrics

We establish L^p bounds on L^2 normalized spectral clusters for self-adjoint elliptic Dirichlet forms with Lipschitz coefficients. In two dimensions we obtain best possible bounds for all p between $2 and infinity, up to logarithmic losses for$6<p\leq 8$. In higher dimensions we obtain best possible bounds for a limited range of p.Comment: 28 page

Parasitoids of \u3ci\u3eChionaspis Pinifoliae\u3c/i\u3e (Homoptera: Diaspididae) in Iowa

Three parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae: Aphelininae), Aphytis diaspidis, Coccobius varicornis, and Marietta pulchella, were recovered from field collections of the pine needle scale, Chionaspis pinifoliae, on Pinus sylvestris in central Iowa. Parasitoid mean time (± SEM) to emergence from overwintered scale mummies occurred at 46.6 (4.6) and 23.9 (1.3) days for C. varicornis and M. pulchella, respectively, using a 16L:8D photoperiod and a corresponding temperature regime of 22°C and 18°C. Growing-season parasitism level on field-collected female C. pinifoliae was 15%; parasitoid community composition was 86% A. diaspidis, 12% C. varicornis, and 2% M. pulchella

Subcritical Lp bounds on spectral clusters for Lipschitz metrics

We establish asymptotic bounds on the L^p norms of spectrally localized functions in the case of two-dimensional Dirichlet forms with coefficients of Lipschitz regularity. These bounds are new for the range p>6. A key step in the proof is bounding the rate at which energy spreads for solutions to hyperbolic equations with Lipschitz coefficients.Comment: 10 page

Subcritical Lp bounds on spectral clusters for Lipschitz metrics

We establish asymptotic bounds on the L^p norms of spectrally localized functions in the case of two-dimensional Dirichlet forms with coefficients of Lipschitz regularity. These bounds are new for the range p>6. A key step in the proof is bounding the rate at which energy spreads for solutions to hyperbolic equations with Lipschitz coefficients.Comment: 10 page

Decay estimates for variable coefficient wave equations in exterior domains

In this article we consider variable coefficient, time dependent wave equations in exterior domains. We prove localized energy estimates if the domain is star-shaped and global in time Strichartz estimates if the domain is strictly convex.Comment: 15 pages. In the new version, some typos are fixed and a minor correction was made to the proof of Lemma 1

Adherence to prophylaxis in adolescents and young adults with severe haemophilia: a qualitative study with healthcare professionals

© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Aim: to examine healthcare professionals’ (HP) perceptions and experiences in relation to adherence to prophylactic treatment among young people living with haemophilia (YPH). Methods: All HPs in four haemophilia centres across England and Wales were invited to participate, and all HPs who agreed to take part (n = 6) were interviewed. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and then analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results: HPs estimate that generally young people with haemophilia keep to their treatment regimen well, although they also recognise that adherence may fluctuate with many patients going through shorter periods of non-adherence. The increasingly personalised or flexible approach to prophylaxis makes it harder to assess adherence. The main themes identified through IPA included (1) HPs’ suggest that adherence fluctuates (2) Non-adherence is mainly driven by lifestyle and developmental, social and family factors, and (3) Education, HPs’ sensitivity to individual needs, and psychological and peer support are key facilitators of good adherence. Conclusion: The increasingly flexible approach to prophylaxis requires a new way of thinking about, and assessment of, adherence. More personalised treatment regimen can be more complicated and may, therefore, lead to accidental non-adherence. The results of this study with HPs complement those of a previous qualitative study with patients but place greater emphasis on a broader perspective on understanding drivers of non-adherence as well as understanding strategies to improve adherence in the minority of patients who appear to struggle.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Fermenting Solutions to New World Problems: Bioremediation of Blue Agave and Cocoa Pod Wastes

Waste, minimizing it, and maximizing profit from it are major foci of most agricultural production processes today. Waste from two major production processes, namely tequila production and cocoa production, share several characteristics. Both these processes are still carried out as they have been for hundreds of years. They are both relatively concentrated in location; all tequila is produced in a small region of Mexico while cocoa pods only grow in tropical environments within 18° of the equator. In addition, both processes used to produce these commodities remain fairly inefficient; they generate huge amounts of waste that goes mostly unused. With both these processes, a new source of income is explored while major waste products, agave leaves from the tequila industry and cocoa pod husks from the cocoa industry, are utilized. Agave leaves, which constitute about half the mass of mature Blue Agave plants, are discarded when agave hearts are harvested to produce tequila. Agave leaves are known to contain reducing sugars and inulin, as well as modest amounts of proteins. The nutrients contained in these leaves can be utilized by single celled organisms and converted into commodities. If the juice is pressed from them prior to fermentation, only the nutrients that fermenting organisms use is consumed, while solid portions, presumably, remain unaffected and available for other applications. Fermentation by strains of Kluyveromyces marxianus and Yarrowia lipolytica F of the nutrient-rich juice pressed from the leaves of a mature Blue Agave plant is explored in this work in an effort to generate valuable commodities such as the yeast themselves, ethanol and ammonia. Cocoa pod husks are piled and left to rot in equatorial rain forest climates when cocoa farmers harvest the ripe pods and collect the precious cocoa beans from them. Cocoa pod husks possess a polysaccharide known as pectin, which can be metabolized by some single celled organisms. The husks, similar to agave leaves, constitute about half the mass of the whole pods; thus, the 4.5 million metric ton cocoa bean harvest forecast for this (2017-2018) growing season will leave about the same mass of waste behind. Fermentation of this waste by K. marxianus 7-1 and K. marxianus 8-1, then Y. lipolytica F in an effort to add value to this waste is explored in this work. Fermentations with K. marxianus yeast strains were carried out using either agave leaf juice or cocoa pod husk pieces in water. Fermentations were allowed to progress for 72 hours from inoculation. Samples were collected at pre-determined time points and analyzed for colony forming units, reducing sugar concentration, soluble protein concentration, ethanol concentration, and the presence or absence of amines and sugars, both simple and complex. Upon termination of some of the K. marxianus fermentations, subsequent, second stage fermentations with Yarrowia were carried out by Mr. Mitchell Lindquist of the USDA through continued collaborative work with the Jones’ Lab. Again, fermentations were sampled at pre-determined time points and, with Yarrowia fermentations, analyzed for colony forming units and ammonia concentrations. Results from these fermentations and subsequent analyses indicate that fermenting these waste products is an effective means of bioremediation. The unused portions of these two enormous cash crops can be used to produce commodities such as ethanol and yeast proteins. These commodities are not nearly as valuable as the cash crop that generate these wastes; however, they do hold substantial value. If the value of the waste products and commodities produced from them can be shown to be substantial enough, this may motivate crop farmers to use these current wastes instead of discarding them