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.

Survey of the Use of Information Communication Technology Tools in CIMB Bank for Decision Making

Nowadays, most people use the internet and other forms of information and communication technology to do their business for the purpose of better services. Also people are looking for services that can be not only affordable but also accessible anywhere anytime. Many business organizations are using ICT in various purposes, mainly being performing their activities effectively. The main objective of the study is to investigate the use of ICT tools in business organizations for decision making. The study aims to perform a survey in order to determine the extent of the use of ICT as well as factors associated with the applications among private business offices operations within CIMB Bank, Kedah

Community Service and Political Identity Development in Adolescence

This article addresses the interconnection of political socialization and identity development. We begin with Erikson \u27s work, which identified the development of political commitment in adolescence as a key aspect of identity formation. We then seek to shed light on the social processes through which youth become engaged in political activities and issues. We discuss the influences of family and peers as well as participation in community service and other civic activities. The development of social responsibility and agency, and an understanding of the complexity of social issues are considered as important facets of political commitment. Data from a case study of Black urban adolescents who participated in a year-long service learning program are used to illustrate our perspective. We conclude that social-historical context, instantiated in social relationships and actions, plays a pivotal role in the process and shape of political socialization and identity formation

What We Know About Engendering Civic Identity

Taking the position that there is a developmental process in the formation of citizenship, the authors reviewed studies that reported a link between youth\u27s participation in organized activities and civic behaviors 15 or more years later in adulthood. Data uniformly showed that students who participated in high school government or community service projects, meant in the broad sense, are more likely to vote and to join community organizations than are adults who were nonparticipants during high school. Results support the authors\u27 view that participation during the youth era can be seminal in the construction of civic identity that includes a sense of agency and social responsibility in sustaining the community\u27s well-being

Religion, community service, and identity in American youth

The role of religion in identity development has, for many years, been a relatively neglected topic In psychology. To demonstrate the importance of religion to the formation of identity, this paper presents evidence connecting community service and religiousness in American youth. Data are reviewed that show youth are heavily involved in volunteer service; many youth view religion as important and those who do so are more likely to do service than youth who do not believe that religion Is important in their lives; involvement in church-sponsored service makes it more likely that youth will adopt the religious rationale in which service is couched; and youth who do church-sponsored service are neither service nerds nor single-Issue tunnel-visioned adolescents. These data from nationally representative samples strengthen the case that the many contemporary youth who take religion seriously are vibrantly engaged in their schooling, in the betterment of communities, and the development of identities which presage healthy lives

MULTI – MODALITY MOLECULAR IMAGING OF ADOPTIVE IMMUNE CELL THERAPY IN BREAST CANCER

Cancer treatment by adoptive immune cell therapy (AIT) is a form of immunotherapy that relies on the in vitro activation and/or expansion of immune cells. In this approach, immune cells, particularly CD8+ T lymphocytes, can potentially be harvested from a tumor-bearing patient, then activated and/or expanded in vitro in the presence of cytokines and other growth factors, and then transferred back into the same patient to induce tumor regression. AIT allows the in vitro generation and activation of T-lymphocytes away from the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, thereby providing optimum conditions for potent anti-tumor activity. The overall objective of this study is to: a) develop multi-modality (optical- and radionuclide-based) molecular imaging approaches to study the overall kinetics of labeled adoptively transferred T- lymphocytes in vivo, b) to non-invasively image and assess in-vivo, targeting and retention of adoptively transferred labeled T-lymphocytes at the tumor site. T-lymphocytes obtained from draining lymph nodes of 4T1 (murine breast cancer cell) sensitized BALB/C mice were activated in vitro with Bryostatin/ Ionomycin for 18 hours, and were grown in either Interleukin-2 (IL-2) or combination of Interleukin-7 and Interleukin-15 (IL-7/IL-15) for 13 days, (cells grown in IL-2 called IL2 cells, and cells grown in IL7/15 called IL7/15 cells). In order to validate the methodology and to offer future clinical translation, both direct and indirect cell labeling methods were expanded and employed. The first method was based on direct in vitro cell labeling by lipophilic near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent probe, 1,1- dioctadecyltetramethyl indotricarbocyanine iodide, (DiR), followed by intravenous (i.v.) injection into BALB/C mice for multi-spectral fluorescence imaging (MSFI). The second method was based on indirect labeling of T- lymphocytes through transduction of a reporter gene (cell cytoplasm labeling Herpes Simplex Virus type 1- thymidine kinase (HSV-1 tk). The product of this reporter gene is an enzyme (HSV-1TK) which phosphorylates a radio labeled substrate 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-1 β- D- arabinofuranosyl-5-iodouracil ([124I]-FIAU) for Positron Emission tomography (PET) imaging. ATP based cell viability assay, flow cytometry and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) ELISA were used to investigate if there are any changes in cell viability, proliferation and function respectively, before and after direct and indirect labeling. The results showed that cell viability, proliferation, and function of labeled 4T1 specific T-lymphocytes were not affected by labeling for direct labeling methods at DiR concentration of 320µg/ml. For the indirect labeling method, the viability and proliferation results showed that cell viability decreases as multiplicity of infectious (MOI) increases. In particular, at MOI of 10 almost all cells die 3 days post transduction. At MOI of 5, cells viability was ≤ 30% and at MOI of 2 was ≤ 60%. Cell viability was 80% at MOI of 1. The results of optical imaging were as follows: when the recipient mice with established 4T1 tumors were injected with DiR labeled 4T1 specific T-lymphocytes, the 4T1 specific T-lymphocytes (IL2 cells) infused into tumor-bearing mice showed high tumor retention, which peaked 3 or 6 days post infusion depending on the tumor size and persisted at the tumor site for 3 weeks. In contrast, IL7/15 cells showed lower signal at the tumor site and this peaked on day 8. On the other case when 4T1 tumor cells were implanted 1-week post-infusion of labeled T-lymphocytes. IL2 T-lymphocytes moved out of lymphoid compartments to the site of subsequent 4T1 inoculation within two hours and peaked on day 3 and the signal persisted for 2 more weeks. In contrast with infusion of IL7/15 cells, the signal was barely detected and did not show a similar trafficking pattern as with IL2 cells. The results of the indirect labeling method, PET reporter gene (PRG) system (HSV-1tk / [124I ] FIAU ) showed that both IL2 and IL7/15 cells were successfully transduced as verified ex vivo by real time PCR and western blot. T Cells transduction efficiency was assessed from cell uptake study in comparison to stable transduced Jurkat cells which have transduction efficiency of 100 %. Both IL2 and IL7/15 cells showed lower transduction efficiency (≤ 30%) compared to Jurkat cells. Consequently, PET imaging did not show a detectable signal of transduced T cells in vivo. Biodistribution study was carried out on day 3 post [124I]-FIAU injections. Results were consistent with the optical imaging results, except for IL7/15 cells. Transduced and untransduced IL2 and IL7/15 cells were labeled with DiR and injected ( i.v.) into Balb / C mice and then imaged by both imaging modalities (MSFI and PET) at the same time. MSFI images of transduced IL2 cell showed detectable signal starting from 2 hours, peaked at 72 hours and persisted up to 2 weeks, while IL7/15 cells were detectable at the tumor site starting at 24 hours, peaked at 72 hours and persisted up to 2 weeks. By the end of this study animals were dissected and tissue activities were counted using gamma counting and expressed as % Injected dose/gram of tissue (%ID/gm). Transduced IL2 and IL7/15 cells showed higher %ID/gm than other organs at lungs, liver, spleen, tumor, lymph nodes and bone/bone marrow. IL7/15 cells compared to IL2 cells showed higher %ID/gm at same organs. Neither IL2 nor IL7/15 untransduced DiR labeled cells showed any activity at tumor site, and their activities at other organs was very low compared to transduced cells. To investigate whether labeled T-lymphocytes will localize at tumor metastases or not, and to study the difference in their migration patterns to the tumor site versus tumor metastases, 4T1 tumor cells were successfully transduced with HSV-1tk as confirmed by RT-PCR , western blot and cell uptake study. Transduced 4T1 cells were implanted in the right flank or in the mammary fat pad of the mouse. Serial PET imaging was carried out in the third and fourth week post tumor implantation to know when the tumor will metastasizes. PET imaging showed only signal at the tumor site and no metastasis were detected

Children In the Garden of Democracy: The Meaning of Civic Engagement in Today’s Egypt

This is the second in a series of reports on the current wave of youth civic engagement in Egypt. Our goal is to offer an on-the-ground account of the unfolding political changes in Egypt from the perspective a small group of young activists from Cairo and Alexandria. Our first report was based on interviews with these youth who described their involvement in the demonstrations of early 2011 that led to the resignation of Hosni Mubarak. We viewed their comments in terms of a social-movement approach to civic engagement. These young people spelled out their grievances against Mubarak’s government, the ideological outlook they shared on political reform, the opportunities that enabled their actions, and the organizational apparatus that made this momentous event possible (Barber & Youniss, 2012). This paper is a reflective analysis of questions that have emerged in our research. We continued to interview these same youth activists over the past year and correlated their evolving views first with our further exploration of Egypt’s complex political situation and second with our knowledge of recent social scientific thought regarding civic engagement among youth. This triangulation leads us to consider three kinds of questions: 1) how to assess civic engagement adequately in a population of youth that lived under politically restrictive conditions; 2) how new definitions of active Egyptian citizenship are emerging; and 3) what these new definitions imply for engagement in the future

Probable haloperidol decanoate-induced fever in an African American with benign ethnic neutropenia: A case report

We present a case in which a patient developed fever and leukocytosis subsequent to each monthly haloperidol decanoate injection, an adverse reaction that does not meet the diagnostic criteria of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) or any previously reported adverse reaction for this medication. A patient being treated with haloperidol decanoate for psychosis experienced a fever within 3 days of injection and leukocytosis along with swelling, pain, and a knot feeling at the injection site. This recurred after each injection for several months. Muscle rigidity or changes in vital signs other than temperature were not noted. Temperature and injection site reactions resolved with administration of acetaminophen and ibuprofen. The elevation in temperature was discovered as a result of universal twice daily temperature monitoring implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports of fever with antipsychotics are typically associated with NMS or heat stroke; the details of this case do not meet the clinical criteria for either. Similar reactions are reported for other antipsychotics, such as clozapine and olanzapine, but not for haloperidol. The recommendation was to discontinue use of the medication due to an unclear mechanism of the reaction

Timing of first union among second-generation Turks in Europe: The role of parents, peers and institutional context

This study examines the influence of parents and peers on first union timing among the Turkish second generation in Europe using pooled data from the TIES survey. Cross-national differences in union formation are assessed by comparing countries with different integration policies and welfare regimes. Analyses show that both parents and peers are relevant predictors of entry into union: More modern parental characteristics and contact with non-coethnic peers result in postponement of union entry. Furthermore, parental and peer influences are found to be rather similar in all seven countries despite a variety of integration policies. Actual timing differences between countries may be caused by welfare state provisions directed at young adults