Exploring the Predictors of Civic Engagement in Identity-Diverse Youth

Existing work on youth civic engagement posits that civic involvement is beneficial for all youth who engage in it. More recent work has focused on articulating and measuring civic engagement as multidimensional, comprising of both civically and politically related behaviors as well as intentions by youth. Taking a multidimensional approach (i.e., measuring civic engagement as behaviors and intentions separately), the current dissertation aimed to add to the existing literature on youth engagement by longitudinally examining engagement among identity-diverse urban youth. Relying on survey data from a large longitudinal school-based study of ethnically diverse adolescents from California who participated in high school to one year post high school (2013-2019), this dissertation explored predictors of engagement across three studies. The first paper presents a multilevel analysis of the change in engagement over the four years of high school, descriptively finding gender, race/ethnicity, and subjective social status differences among behaviors and intentions of young people. The second paper explored the longitudinal relationship between perceived racial/ethnic self- and group- mistreatment and civic behaviors over the first three years of high school. Using cross-lagged path analysis, it was found that perceiving group-based mistreatment predicted higher engagement during the subsequent year in high school, suggesting that perceiving mistreatment may be a communal predictor of civic engagement among urban, ethnically diverse youth. Finally, an exploration of a cataclysmic national event – that is, the 2016 U.S. Presidential election – was conducted in the third paper as a potential predictor of civic engagement among three age groups of youth. Results from the third study found that engagement declined for all youth, especially the oldest participants, at the second time point after the election compared to before the election. Taken together, this three- study dissertation highlights the importance of exploring personal as well as communal predictors of civic engagement through multiple indicators such as behaviors undertaken by youth along with their intentions for future civic-related actions. The findings advance our understanding of how youth are propelled to become civically involved throughout late adolescence

Toolkit for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Community Engagement Activities

This toolkit provides recommendations, project examples, and resources designed to help CSUSB faculty better integrate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles into university and community-centered initiatives. Includes a dedicated section on Resources for Centering Mental Health & Well-Being in Academia

Analysis of Steady State Heat Conduction Problem Using EFGM

ABSTRACT In present work, a one dimensional heat conduction problem with uniform heat generation is solved by using element free Gelerkin method (EFGM). The problem was to calculate the temperature distribution on different points across the thickness of a plane wall. The nodes are generated across the thickness of wall to find out the temperature distribution on different points. Then moving least squares (MLS) approximants is used to approximate the unknown function of temperature T(x) with the help of T h (x). Lagrange multiplier technique is used to enforce essential boundary conditions. The MATLAB codes have been developed to obtain the solution of the given problem. The results obtained by EFG method are compared with analytical and FEM results to validate the proposed MATLAB codes. The results are also studied by increasing the number of nodes and by changing the values of scaling parameter d max . Different weight functions are also used to check the variation in the results

Not Fitting In: The Impact of Gender Atypicality on Middle Schoolers’ Psychosocial Adjustment

The current study examined self-perceived gender atypicality (i.e., not fitting in with one’s gender) in relation to psychosocial adjustment among ethnically diverse adolescents. A growing body of evidence supports negative associations between self-perceived gender atypicality and gender-based bullying and discrimination (Jewell & Brown, 2014). The goal of the current study was to establish whether gender atypicality predicted loneliness, anxiety, victimization, and gender discrimination and if deviating from one’s own gender and ethnic group norms placed youth at a higher risk. This study addressed a gap in the existing gender atypicality literature; that is, prior work mostly studied white youth (Egan & Perry, 2001) and did not take into account deviation from gender and ethnic ingroup norms. Using an ethnically diverse sample of seventh graders (n = 3,788) from urban middle schools, findings from general linear models documented that gender atypicality (self-perceived and when using the deviation from gender and ethnic ingroup norms) predicted higher negative psychosocial outcomes. These relationships were moderated by ethnicity and gender, following an intersectionality framework, among which White youth were found to be feeling more lonely, anxious, and reported higher frequency of gender based discrimination, when they deviated in gender atypicality from other White youth at their school. Implications for particular adolescents who may be at higher risk of poor adjustment are discussed

Glioblastoma of the optic pathways: An Atypical case

We present a case of glioblastoma multiforme of the optic pathways in a 68 year old lady. Glioblastomas of the optic pathways are rare tumors; the predominant non enhancing component and the vast extent of involvement makes this a unique case. This case report further increases the database of knowledge available on the MRI characteristics of malignant optic glioma of adulthood

Isolated retinal cotton wool spot after coronary angiography

Visual symptoms after coronary angiography are rarely encountered and mostly related to contrast induced transient cortical blindness or retinal artery occlusions. We report an intriguing case of a 50-year-old woman, who presented with vision deterioration in her right eye 12 h after coronary angiography for cardiac palpitation. Fundoscopy and optical coherence tomography scan revealed an isolated parafoveal cotton wool spot in her right eye that has totally resolved 6 weeks after initial presentation. This is the first case report of this rare post coronary angiography complication

Replacement of rice-wheat cropping system with alternative diversified systems concerning crop productivity and their impact on soil carbon and nutrient status in soil profile of north-west India

AbstractThe depth-wise depletion of soil organic carbon (OC), macro, micro, and secondary nutrients under the rice-wheat system has resulted in multi-nutrient deficiencies and a decline in crop productivity, emphasizing the replacement of rice-wheat with alternate cropping systems like maize-wheat, cotton-wheat, soybean-wheat, and moongbean-wheat to restore soil fertility and productivity. Long-term investigations (since 2016) revealed that there was a depth-wise decline in pH, EC, OC, and nutrients in soil profile (Udic Ustrochept, Inceptisols) among different cropping systems. The practice of deep-rooted cropping systems (maize-wheat and cotton-wheat) led to maximum OC, soluble calcium, and magnesium, while legume-based systems (especially soybean-wheat) led to maximum available phosphorus (30.86 kg ha−1), boron (0.49 mg kg−1), and DTPA-zinc (1.82 mg kg−1) in soil profile (0–120 cm). This system also led to the maximum surface soil OC, available phosphorus, soluble magnesium, DTPA-zinc, and boron. From the production point of view, soybean-wheat system (115.65 q ha−1) led to higher system grain productivity as compared to rice-wheat system (109.60 q ha−1). Therefore, the practice of alternative cropping systems like soybean-wheat and cotton-wheat helps in the build-up of nutrient status by playing a pivotal role in influencing the surface and depth-wise distribution of organic carbon and nutrients in the soil

Comparison of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) hybrids and their non-transgenic in India

It is still not clear whether differential response of Bt cotton and conventional non-Bt cotton genotypes in terms of growth, phenology and yield ability are hypothetical or realistic. This study investigated the response of three Bt cotton hybrids in comparison to their conventional non-transgenic version (near-isogenic lines) along with two locally adapted genotypes for growth, yield attributes, phenological characteristics and rooting behavior. Therefore, two experiments were conducted during summer season of year 2016 and 2017 to evaluate differences among 3 popular Bt cotton hybrids along with their non-Bt version. First field experiment was conducted as a pot study wherein shoot and root parameters of 3 Bt cotton hybrids (Ankur 3028, MRC 7017, Bioseed 6588) were compared with their non-Bt version along with 2 local checks (i.e.,hirsutum cotton Cv. F2228 and arboreum cottonCv. FDK124). Second field experiment evaluated growth, phenological characteristics, yield attributes and productivity potential of above mentioned Bt and non-Bt hybrids. Findings of pot experiment could not establish any significant difference among studied Bt and non-Bt hybrids for root and shoot characteristics. However, arboreum cotton FDK124 exhibited higher root length than all genotypes. Results of second experiment revealed significant differences for phenological characteristics, wherein Bt version of all the tested hybrids exhibited earliness for flowering initiation, 50 % flowering and days to maturity over their non-Bt version. Seed cotton yield (SCY) in all hybrids possessing Bt gene was significantly higher than their non-Bt version primarily due to higher bolls plant-1. Studies conclude that introgression of Bt gene could not alter rooting parameters of evaluated cotton genotypes but significantly affected phenological stages by inducing earliness and higher SCY in Bt versions due to improved bolls plant-1.Keywords: Bt cotton; Near-isogenic lines; Phenology; Root dry matter; Seed cotton yiel