Civic Engagement Among Emerging Adults: Self-Efficacy, Purpose, And Program Experiences

Understanding how to cultivate civic mindedness and engagement in emerging adults is of central importance. Theories of positive youth development point to the importance of particular youth characteristics for promoting the development of successful and contributing citizens (Lerner, Almerigi, Theokas, & Lerner, 2005). Among these, self-efficacy, or one’s belief in their ability to perform a specific task, is considered essential (Bandura, 1977; DeWitz, 2004; Solhaug, 2006). Scholars have, more recently, pointed to the role of purpose as key for motivating civic engagement (Damon, Menon, & Cotton Bronk, 2003). Beyond youth characteristics, other scholars point to the importance of opportunities for youth engagement, such as community engagement and service-learning. Opportunities offered through such programs have been linked to student growth in civic attitudes and skills. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between self-efficacy, purpose, and the development of civic attitudes, including civic action, political awareness, diversity attitudes, and social justice awareness, among students involved in a service-learning course. A second aim is to demonstrate and explore the role and importance of service experiences in student learning. It was hypothesized that there would be a change in civic attitudes and skills following a service experience (i.e., student’s participation in a service-learning course) and that self-efficacy and purpose would predict changes in civic attitudes and skills. For a subset of individuals, we predicted the dimensions and quality of service experiences would further predict civic attitudes and skills. To explore these relationships, this study utilized archival data collected from college students enrolled in an environmental service-learning course over three semesters. Results indicated that students overall civic attitude and skills, as well as all sub-areas, significantly increased following participation in a service-learning course. Further, the combination of general self-efficacy and purpose significantly predicted changes in overall civic attitudes and skills, political awareness, and diversity attitudes. Student’s indicated service experiences contributed to their overall learning at a significantly higher rate than other course components. The results of this study re-affirm the importance of service-learning experiences and self-efficacy in relation to the development of civic-mindedness in young adults

Rising Expenditures on Pets

The purpose of my paper is to highlight the rising expenditures on pets in the United States and to elucidate possible reasons behind this trend, considering the role(s) pets play within families especially in place of human counterparts. Robert K Merton\u27s notion of latent and manifest functions provide the theoretical framework. I consider the popular works Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, John Grogan\u27s Marley and Me, and the Disney film The Fox and the Hound, as well as turn to statistics regarding how much money people are spending on their pets and specific areas where that spending is increasing, such as food. The relationships between pets and their owners in these works are clear examples of the importance of pets in families, rationalizing the real-life trends considered here

Representing suicide: Giving voice to a desire to die?

Drawing on interview and online ethnographic data from a study of suicide on the railways, this paper describes the ways in which many of the concepts, assumptions and practices of mainstream suicide prevention are challenged in the accounts of those who are planning, or have enacted, a suicide attempt. We reflect on the ethical dilemmas which can arise for researchers (and practitioners) when lived experience accounts diverge – theoretically, morally and in terms of practical implications – from present-day expert ones. In online, ‘pro-choice’ suicide discussions, people describe beliefs, attitudes, ways of thinking and acting which stand in contrast to existing professional and clinical descriptions of suicide and suicidal behaviour. Most obviously, there is often a rejection of ‘pro-life’ positions, which are framed as ideological, oppressive and naïve. For researchers engaging in online ethnography of ‘pro-choice’ spaces, dilemmas can arise in relation to the representation of perspectives which fundamentally challenge not only prevailing norms within suicide research and prevention practice but socio-cultural norms more widely. Similar issues can arise when considering how best to represent research participants when their accounts diverge from accepted ‘expert’ knowledge and beliefs. In-depth qualitative interviews with those who have thought about or attempted to take their own life indicate that existing theories and models of suicide which start from assumptions of deficit and pathology underestimate the extent to which suicide, as the end result of an often-complex series of actions, requires a person to engage in logistical processes of planning, decision-making, imagination and adaptation. The accounts described here, gathered using two different methodological approaches, highlight the ethical issues which can surface when there are competing claims to (expert) knowledge, as well as differences in beliefs, attitudes and moral stance towards life and death. We argue that researchers need to reflect on their own ethical-moral position in relation to suicide, and on the practical consequences of their privileging of some voices at the expense of other, less well represented, ones

eLEN2 — 2nd generation eLearning Exchange Networks.

International audienceSince May 2007 the authors of this paper have explored and evaluated the use, including relative merits and challenges of social networking within the context of higher education professional development programmes in France and in Britain (Marsh & Panckhurst, 2007; Panckhurst & Marsh, 2008). A social networking tool was adopted for Masters' level courses in order to try and establish an effective collaborative pedagogical environment and sense of community, by placing students at the centre of the learning process (cf. Coombes et al., 2003). This approach was initiated as students' professional backgrounds were very different and it was not within the remit of the more structured ‘academic' programme to cater for such diverse needs and experience. The tool (Ning : http://www.ning.com/) was used to create private communities (eLearning Exchange Networks — eLEN). They were set up to provide virtual discussion space for exchanges in a social network-type environment. The initial frameworks for learners to communicate within was created and structured by the authors, but within a relative short space of time the learners were encouraged to initiate and moderate discussion threads. Case studies of three different pedagogical contexts conducted during 2007-2008 show that the majority of students felt they were no longer “tied-down” to an institutional virtual learning environment (VLE) since the eLEN allowed learning and interaction on the open Web, and they considered they benefited from a sense of freedom, a shift of responsibility in terms of apprehending their own learning, a collaborative group developing towards a community of practice (CoP), and a chance to display their own autonomy and interactive/tutoring techniques. The latest case study (conducted during the University year 2008-2009), which is presented in this paper, introduces some new directions and questions: now that social networks have become very popular, even within pedagogical environments, will they continue to provide the same advantages as were recently exposed in previous case studies? Expectations of social networks are very different several years on. Will they be supplanted by a new technological or pedagogical innovation? Can we move towards second-generation eLENs so that they still include diversity, autonomy, openness, interaction? which are keywords that Downes (2008) associates with network usage? What distinguishes 1st and 2nd generation eLENs? What is the next step? Who are the drivers/stakeholders? What are the implications for institutions? How can institutional control (both qualitative and pedagogical) be maintained? In this paper, we posit that 2nd generation eLENs do not require new technology, but a new, more developed pedagogy is definitely mandatory. As Anderson (2009) stipulates: “social networking learning designs will prove more effective, efficient and motivating ways to support learning than any previous forms – including both traditional campus based and distance education”

Stakeholder engagement in the governance of marine migratory species: barriers and building blocks

Meaningful stakeholder engagement is important to collaborative decision-making and to effective polycentric governance, particularly when managing cross-scale environmental issues like those involving marine migratory species. In this paper, we explore the barriers to, and opportunities for, stakeholder involvement in the governance of threats to marine migratory species in eastern Australia, using semi-structured qualitative interviews and a focus group, as an example of the generic problem of managing migratory species within a large range state with multiple jurisdictions. Respondents identified several barriers to, and opportunities for, improved stakeholder involvement in the governance of marine migratory species, corresponding to 4 main themes: decision-making processes, information sharing, institutional structures, and participation processes. Respondents indicated that the governance system protecting marine turtles, dugongs, humpback whales, and non-threatened migratory shorebirds in eastern Australia would benefit from the introduction of new information pathways, reformed institutional structures (including environmental legislation), and improved participatory pathways for non-government stakeholders. Such changes could help harmonise the process of managing these species, leading to more effective conservation management throughout their range

Subclinical infection without encephalitis in mice following intranasal exposure to Nipah virus-Malaysia and Nipah virus-Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: Nipah virus and Hendra virus are closely related and following natural or experimental exposure induce similar clinical disease. In humans, encephalitis is the most serious outcome of infection and, hitherto, research into the pathogenesis of henipavirus encephalitis has been limited by the lack of a suitable model. Recently we reported a wild-type mouse model of Hendra virus (HeV) encephalitis that should facilitate detailed investigations of its neuropathogenesis, including mechanisms of disease recrudescence. In this study we investigated the possibility of developing a similar model of Nipah virus encephalitis. FINDINGS: Aged and young adult wild type mice did not develop clinical disease including encephalitis following intranasal exposure to either the Malaysia (NiV-MY) or Bangladesh (NiV-BD) strains of Nipah virus. However viral RNA was detected in lung tissue of mice at euthanasia (21 days following exposure) accompanied by a non-neutralizing antibody response. In a subsequent time course trial this viral RNA was shown to be reflective of an earlier self-limiting and subclinical lower respiratory tract infection through successful virus re-isolation and antigen detection in lung. There was no evidence for viremia or infection of other organs, including brain. CONCLUSIONS: Mice develop a subclinical self-limiting lower respiratory tract infection but not encephalitis following intranasal exposure to NiV-BD or NiV-MY. These results contrast with those reported for HeV under similar exposure conditions in mice, demonstrating a significant biological difference in host clinical response to exposure with these viruses. This finding provides a new platform from which to explore the viral and/or host factors that determine the neuroinvasive ability of henipaviruses