Ketrampilan Temu Duga

Penampilan diri ketika temu duga mesti sesuai

Oleh Nor Afzan Mohamad Yusof


Ketrampilan adalah aset utama untuk mendapat tempat pada peringkat pertama berhadapan majikan

MENJELANG hujung tahun, beberapa institusi pengajian tinggi awam (IPTA) sudah pun mengadakan majlis konvokesyen masing-masing dan dianggap acara 'kemuncak' bagi pelajar, kerana ia adalah 'petanda' kejayaan menggenggam segulung ijazah.



Bagaimanapun majlis tidak bernokhtah di situ kerana bagi graduan yang bercita-cita makan gaji, mereka perlu pula bersaing dalam dunia pekerjaan. Perkara pertama perlu dihadapi ialah berhadapan dengan sesi temu duga oleh majikan dalam usaha mencari pekerja sesuai.

Tidak dinafikan selain kelulusan, penampilan diri adalah aset utama ?memasarkan diri? dalam dunia pekerjaan. seperti pemakaian, komunikasi dan keyakinan adalah perkara pertama dilihat majikan sebelum mengambil keputusan memilih seseorang sebagai pekerja.

Pengarah Sumber Manusia Philips (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Azlena Abdul Hamid yang bertanggungjawab secara langsung dalam pengambilan pekerj, berkata antara kelulusan dan penampilan, kedua elemen itu sebenarnya dilihat sama pentingnya dalam memainkan peranan masing-masing.

Beliau berkata, kelulusan memainkan peranan penting pada peringkat senarai pendek, atas keperluan memastikan pekerja sepadan dengan spesifikasi jawatan dipohon, sementara personaliti atau penampilan dinilai pula ketika proses temu duga berlangsung.

Ketika itu, katanya, perkara paling utama dilihat ialah aspek komunikasi yang mana seharusnya calon mampu berinteraksi dengan baik, tidak kira dari segi idea atau pengalamannya. Dalam kata lain, beliau seharusnya berkemampuan berhubung dengan penemu duga.

"Banyak perkara khususnya berkaitan kemahiran dan teknik dapat dikesan oleh penemu duga menerusi proses temu duga yang dilihat antara aspek paling penting sebelum seseorang itu diterima kerja di sesebuah organisasi.

"Seandainya penemu duga mampu memadankan calon dengan keperluan sesuatu pekerjaan dan mencungkil kekuatan calon, saya boleh katakan proses temu duga itu adalah efektif dalam mencari pekerja sesuai untuk sesebuah syarikat," katanya ketika dihubungi, baru-baru ini.

Tegasnya penampilan diri seharusnya diselaraskan dengan syarikat yang ingin seseorang ceburi. Telahan seperti berpakaian formal untuk sektor korporat atau bertudung untuk syarikat yang menjurus kepada keislaman, ada juga kebenarannya.

Ini berikutan ia dikatakan amat berkait rapat dengan sesebuah organisasi itu sendiri yang mana menjurus kepada sesuatu bidang, kehendak majikan, aspirasi tugasan yang dipohon serta bentuk pekerjaan ditawarkan kelak.

"Selalunya penampilan luaran seperti solekan atau bergaya sakan, bukanlah keutamaan bagi pekerja yang bergiat dalam sektor dalaman atau teknikal, berbanding pekerja yang perlu berhadapan orang ramai seperti dalam bidang pemasaran yang mana anda perlu 'memasarkan' nama syarikat.

"Ia sebetulnya banyak mengikut kesesuaian. Tiada yang terlalu spesifik. Sebagai contoh, pekerja dalam dunia pengiklanan mungkin memerlukan pekerja yang berbeza personalitinya daripada pekerja dalam sektor jualan dalam industri teknikal," katanya.

Nasihatnya, bagi pekerja yang pertama kali memohon pekerjaan, pemohon seharusnya jelas mengenai kerjaya yang dipohon dan berkerja keras untuk mendapatkannya, malah harus realistik bahawa kita perlu bermula daripada bawah untuk menimba pengalaman.

"Bukan semua kerja menyediakan pejabat yang cantik serta berhawa dingin, hanya minat boleh mengatasinya," katanya.

Walaupun dunia pekerjaan dikatakan terlalu sedikit berbanding peluang kerjaya ditawarkan, realitinya setiap calon harus bersedia menghadapi cabaran pertama memohon pekerjaan pada sesi temu duga. Sesiapa saja boleh mengatakan dalam masa sesingkat itu tidak mudah mengenal 'realiti' seseorang pekerja, namun menerusi tempoh 'percubaan' yang disyaratkan majikan, adalah tempoh penyesuaian sebenar sama ada anda sesuai dengan kerjaya dipohon serta sejauh mana anda selesa dengan dunia baru bergelar pekerja.

INFO

Panduan menghadiri temu duga:


Perlu bersedia, yakin, selain berpenampilan mesra seperti berjabat tangan dengan penemuduga.


Calon juga seharusnya tahu teknik berkomunikasi dengan betul, seperti memandang tepat ke arah mata penemuduga ketika menjawab soalan.


Mampu menyampaikan pemikiran atau idea dengan baik antara kriteria dilihat penemuduga seseorang itu berperwatakan yakin atau bijak.


Seseorang calon amat digalakkan untuk mendapatkan maklumat mengenai sesebuah syarikat sebelum menghadiri temuduga untuk menunjukkan bahawa anda benar-benar berminat untuk bekerja di situ.


Dalam hal penampilan seharusnya seseorang itu tampil kemas, sopan dan tidak terlalu santai. Bagi wanita, bersolek juga dilihat sebagai sesuatu yang positif kerana ada pendapat mengatakan bersolek mampu meningkatkan keyakinan dan menutup warna pucat kerana gentar pada sesi temu duga.


Jadilah profesional dengan membawa sijil serta testimoni di dalam fail yang elok seperti tidak comot atau terkoyak. Jangan lupa senyum dan gembira sepanjang proses temu duga itu berlangsung.

Isu Belia: Buang Sekolah

7,000 pelajar dibuang sekolah

PUTRAJAYA 16 Ogos – Sejumlah 7,000 pelajar dibuang sekolah sementara kira-kira 15,000 yang lain digantung persekolahan pada tahun lepas kerana terlibat dalam pelbagai perbuatan salah laku termasuk ponteng, kata Timbalan Menteri Pelajaran, Datuk Noh Omar.

Beliau bagaimanapun menarik perhatian bahawa situasi itu bertambah baik tahun ini.

“Pada tahun ini setakat hari ini saya tengok ada penurunan sebanyak lebih kurang separuh (daripada kedua-dua jumlah itu),” katanya kepada pemberita pada majlis Malam Anugerah Buku Teks 2006, di sini malam tadi.

Sehubungan itu, Noh mencadangkan supaya Yang Dipertua (YDP) Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan (PBT) menganggotai Jawatankuasa Permuafakatan Menangani Masalah Salah Laku Pelajar di peringkat daerah masing-masing.

Beliau berkata, penglibatan mereka dalam jawatankuasa itu penting supaya dapat bekerjasama dengan pihak pegawai pelajaran dan polis menangani masalah pelajar ponteng sekolah.

Katanya, kerjasama daripada YDP perlu bagi mengawal serta mencegah pusat-pusat hiburan yang dilesenkannya dari dikunjungi pelajar.

“Masalah (mengenai pelajar) yang berlaku di luar (sekolah) misalnya ponteng tidak ada undang-undang yang boleh diambil tindakan kepada pelajar melainkan dia ponteng di pusat-pusat hiburan.

“Sebab itu kita nak kena bawa Yang Dipertua masuk (menganggotai Jawatankuasa Permuafakatan),” katanya.

Jawatankuasa Permuafakatan yang ditubuhkan di peringkat Pusat dipengerusikan bersama oleh Ketua Pengarah Pelajaran, Datuk Dr. Ahamad Sipon dan Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Mohd Bakri Omar.

Isu Belia: Remaja Kian Hanyut

Remaja berpeleseran

Oleh Zainuddin Sharuddin

Bilangan remaja lelaki dan perempuan yang keluar tanpa izin ibu bapa hingga larut malam meningkat mendadak pada 2004 berbanding kajian 1994

Jam menunjukkan 11.30 malam, tetapi suasana Bintang Walk di pusat bandar raya Kuala Lumpur pada malam minggu sungguh meriah. Di satu kawasan lapang berhampiran simpang empat dan stesen monorel Bukit Bintang, tujuh remaja berpakaian ala punk, termasuk dua perempuan, melepak di tepi jalan. Sesekali ketawa berderai kuat dan apabila jemu, mereka bergerak ke tempat lain.

Di suatu sudut lain, sepasang remaja lelaki dan perempuan berpelukan tanpa menghiraukan orang sekeliling.Bukan hanya Bukit Bintang, kawasan lain yang menjadi tumpuan remaja kota seperti sekitar Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), pemandangan yang menjadi sebahagian ciri landskap bandar raya Barat mula menampakkan wajahnya.

Pemandangan begini sukar dilihat kira-kira 20 atau 30 tahun lalu. Memang benar gejala negatif wujud pada setiap zaman, tetapi salah laku sosial remaja semakin kerap diperkatakan.Hari ini, remaja keluar hingga larut malam bukan hanya di Kuala Lumpur. Hampir setiap bandar besar seperti Johor Bahru, Ipoh dan Georgetown, malah bandar kecil seperti Kulim dan Taiping, menunjukkan fenomena sama.

Ini yang menyebabkan Kajian Penduduk dan Keluarga Malaysia Ke-4 (KPKM-4) 2004 oleh Lembaga Penduduk dan Pembangunan Keluarga Negara (LPPKN), meletakkan keluar hingga larut malam sebagai antara salah laku sosial remaja.Hasil kajian bersiri setiap 10 tahun sejak 1974 itu mendapati bahawa 13.5 peratus remaja di Semenanjung Malaysia, 12 peratus di Sabah dan 11.3 peratus di Sarawak keluar tanpa izin ibu bapa hingga larut malam.

Mengapa keluar hingga larut malam dikategorikan sebagai salah laku sosial remaja?Pengarah Bahagian Kependudukan LPPKN, Rohani Ab Razak, berkata kategori salah laku sosial remaja ditentukan satu jawatankuasa teknikal yang dianggotai pakar LPPKN, agensi kerajaan berkaitan dan pakar akademik.Katanya, sudah tentu salah laku sosial itu adalah berdasarkan senario sebenar yang berlaku dalam masyarakat sekarang.

Salah laku sosial remaja lain yang disenaraikan ialah gangsterisme, menyertai perlumbaan haram, merokok dan menagih dadah.Pada tahun 1960-an dan 1970-an, salah laku sosial remaja bukan agenda utama pihak berkuasa. Hanya pada 1984, kajian LPPKN memberi perhatian terhadap salah laku sosial remaja.Antara fakta menonjol dalam KPKM-4 ialah bilangan remaja lelaki dan perempuan yang keluar tanpa izin ibu bapa hingga larut malam meningkat mendadak berbanding kajian sama pada 1994, iaitu dari 3.7 peratus kepada 22.2 peratus (lelaki) dan 0.8 peratus kepada 4.6 peratus (perempuan).

Apakah dilakukan remaja yang keluar hingga larut malam? Rohani berkata, KPKM-4 tidak memperincikan apa yang mereka lakukan, tetapi paling penting ialah kajian mendapati bahawa masalah itu paling ketara.“KPKM-4 menunjukkan keluar hingga larut malam adalah salah laku sosial remaja paling tinggi, diikuti merokok dan menyertai perlumbaan haram.

Oleh itu, sewajarnya kajian lanjut dan fokus diberikan terhadap masalah ini”, katanya.Tinjauan Berita Minggu di beberapa kawasan ibu negara yang menjadi tumpuan malam minggu seperti sepanjang Jalan Bukit Bintang dan Jalan Sultan Ismail, menunjukkan pusat hiburan adalah antara destinasi kegemaran remaja.Malangnya di lokasi beginilah pelbagai masalah sosial membabitkan remaja bercambah terutama penyalahgunaan dadah.

Timbalan Ketua Polis Negara, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, menyatakan hasil pemeriksaan polis di pusat hiburan seluruh negara mendapati sebahagian besar pengunjung didapati positif dalam ujian dadah dan paling ketara dadah sintetik dan pil psikotropik.Sesetengah pihak melihat inilah harga yang perlu dibayar apabila negara mengalami proses pemodenan.Pembangunan pesat negara ternyata mempunyai implikasi terhadap sistem sosial masyarakat negara ini. Pada awal kemerdekaan hingga era 1960-an, ekonomi Malaysia berasaskan pertanian dan majoriti penduduk di luar bandar.Mulai 1970-an, proses migrasi dan industrialisasi pesat berlaku di negara ini. Tahun lalu, 63 peratus penduduk Malaysia menghuni kawasan bandar dan hanya 37 peratus di luar bandar.

Struktur institusi keluarga juga berubah.Keluarga sebagai elemen sistem sosial yang membentuk masyarakat sudah jauh berbeza. Dulu keluarga bermaksud beberapa keluarga yang mempunyai ikatan rapat di satu tempat dan diketuai anggota keluarga paling tua dan berpengaruh.Hari ini, keluarga bermaksud hanya ibu bapa dan akan-anaknya. Peranan datuk nenek serta bapa dan ibu saudara semakin berkurangan. Justeru tidak hairan kawalan ibu bapa terhadap anak-anak semakin longgar.

Dari sudut lain, polis melihat masalah salah laku sosial remaja berdasarkan pembabitan juvana dan pelajar dalam kes jenayah Bagi tempoh enam bulan pertama tahun ini, statistik polis mendapati sebanyak 2,605 kes jenayah membabitkan juvana dan 863 membabitkan pelajar. Jumlah tangkapan pula membabitkan 3,616 juvana dan 1,467 pelajar.Perbandingan bagi tempoh sama tahun lalu, 1,846 kes jenayah membabitkan juvana dan dan 723 kes pelajar dengan jumlah tangkapan membabitkan juvana seramai 2,784 orang dan 1,279 pelajar.Mungkin bagi sesetengah pihak, peningkatan kes serta tangkapan juvana dan pelajar adalah kecil, tetapi Timbalan Ketua Polis Negara, tidak melihat begitu dan melahirkan kebimbangan dengan trend jenayah membabitkan juvana dan pelajar.Kebimbangan ini sewajarnya dikongsi bersama masyarakat dan tidak melihat salah laku sosial remaja sebagai perkara biasa atau remeh temeh.KPKM-4 yang akan dikemukakan kepada Kabinet dan dibincangkan secara mendalam bakal menjadi asas kepada dasar dan program yang akan kerajaan laksanakan untuk menangani salah laku sosial remaja.Bagaimanapun, salah laku sosial remaja bukan hanya masalah kerajaan. Masyarakat tidak boleh berpeluk tubuh dan hanya melihat masalah ini sebagai fenomena biasa. Setiap orang boleh memberi sumbangan.Ini termasuk mengukuhkan semula institusi keluarga dengan mengamalkan gaya kehidupan yang berteraskan budaya Timur dan berpegang kukuh kepada ajaran agama sebagai benteng kukuh menghadapi serangan elemen negatif budaya Barat.

Sumber: Berita Harian Online, 16 Ogos 2006

Isu Belia: Tabiat Merokok

Setiap hari 50 remaja mulakan tabiat merokok 16 Oktober 2003

KEMPEN 'Nafas Baru Mulai Ramadan' yang disasarkan kepada perokok Muslimin dan Muslimat agar meninggalkan tabiat itu secara beramai-ramai mulai Ramadan ini, akan menyingkap punca mereka merokok. Kementerian Kesihatan bersama Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia, Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia, Persatuan Perubatan Islam Malaysia, Pusat Racun Negara dan beberapa pertubuhan bukan kerajaan menjalankan pelbagai strategi dan kegiatan untuk membantu perokok Muslim di negara ini supaya berhenti merokok.

Ketagihan rokok menjadi masalah global yang sukar ditangani di banyak negara. Sudah banyak program dilancarkan membabitkan pelbagai peringkat untuk mengatasi masalah penagihan rokok.

Mereka yang merokok, walaupun menyedari kesan buruknya, terus meningkat bilangannya setiap tahun. Antara punca utama ketagihan merokok ialah tindakan syarikat gergasi yang membelanjakan beratus juta ringgit setiap tahun di Malaysia bagi mempromosikan rokok kepada orang awam. Ini dilakukan sama ada secara terang-terangan atau sembunyi, menyebabkan ramai yang termakan propaganda itu tanpa disedari.

Yang lebih menyedihkan ialah penggunaan teknologi tinggi syarikat rokok berjaya memujuk, merayu dan memutar belit dengan pelbagai muslihat untuk mempromosikan rokok tanpa disedari oleh masyarakat. Peruntukan yang sangat besar, sekurang-kurangnya RM300 juta setahun, digunakan untuk mempromosi tabiat merokok di Malaysia.

Masyarakat diajak supaya mengubah pemikiran agar mempercayai bahawa pilihan merokok adalah hak asasi seseorang dan merokok adalah gaya serta pilihan seseorang. Walhal, rokok adalah dadah yang membawa kepada ketagihan kuat dan lazimnya seorang perokok itu mempunyai kesukaran untuk berhenti.

Malaysia sedang menghadapi wabak merokok dan kita sebenarnya menentang syarikat tembakau dalam perjuangan yang sangat mencabar.

Statistik menunjukkan rakyat Malaysia menghisap 23.7 bilion rokok setahun dan jumlah ini satu peningkatan besar daripada 18 bilion batang pada 1998.

Penyakit berkaitan merokok adalah pembunuh nombor satu di negara ini, yang menyebabkan kira-kira 10,000 rakyat Malaysia meninggal dunia setiap tahun.

Statistik menunjukkan 49 peratus daripada lelaki dewasa di negara ini merokok dan melebihi kadar di negara maju seperti di Britain (38 peratus), Amerika Syarikat (35 peratus) dan Sweden (30 peratus). Kesedaran di negara ini menurunkan kadar merokok sejak beberapa tahun lalu.
Perangkaan juga menunjukkan Melayu Muslim meliputi 35 peratus daripada keseluruhan perokok iaitu kira-kira satu juta orang, berbanding Cina (23 peratus) dan India (20 peratus). Kebanyakan perokok adalah penduduk luar bandar.

Sebilangan besar perokok juga dikesan mula berjinak dengan tabiat ini sejak remaja. Purata umur mula merokok ialah 19 tahun. Pada 1985, 9.8 peratus remaja didapati merokok dan kadar itu meningkat kepada 18 peratus pada 2000.

Satu fenomena membimbangkan ialah lebih ramai gadis mulai merokok. Malah remaja perempuan yang merokok, didapati bertambah daripada satu kepada lapan peratus, khususnya di bandar. Dianggarkan setiap hari 50 remaja memulakan tabiat buruk ini. Hasil kajian mendapati matlamat iklan rokok hampir semuanya ditujukan kepada remaja untuk dapatkan pelapis perokok baru. Setiap remaja yang mula merokok berkemungkinan akan merokok purata selama 30 tahun akan datang.

Seorang remaja ada kalanya boleh ketagih pada rokok walaupun hanya mengambil satu sedutan. Ini disebabkan otak yang masih dalam proses pertumbuhan dan belum matang. Ketagihan ini disebabkan kandungan dadah nikotin dalam rokok. Dalam kata lain, perniagaan rokok diibaratkan satu perniagaan dadah yang membawa keuntungan besar.

Berdasarkan kajian, dalam sebatang rokok ada kira-kira 4,000 jenis bahan beracun yang disedut ke dalam tubuh ketika seseorang itu merokok. Antara kandungan asap rokok yang memudaratkan ialah tar, nikotin dan karbon monoksida.

Tar mengandungi pelbagai bahan kimia yang boleh menyebabkan barah. Antara bahan utama dalam tar ialah PAH (hidrokarbon polinuklear aromatik). Bahan ini boleh mencacatkan sel baka. Justeru, tar juga dikenal pasti sebagai karsinogen, yakni bahan yang boleh mengubah sifat sel jinak menjadi ganas hingga menjadi barah.

Nikotin pula, selain menjadi dadah yang menyebabkan ketagihan yang tinggi, menyebabkan denyutan nadi dan tekanan darah bertambah, di samping memekatkan cairan darah dalam tubuh. Ramai yang tidak tahu bahawa kepekatan darah seorang perokok dan bukan perokok adalah berbeza.

Karbon monoksida pula adalah gas yang menyebabkan bekalan oksigen ke tisu badan menjadi terencat. Ia boleh bergabung dengan sel darah merah dan mengurangkan keupayaan sel itu mengangkut oksigen ke seluruh tubuh, termasuk otak. Kajian sains menunjukkan kepayaan fizikal dan mental perokok terganggu akibat meningkatnya pengaruh karbon monoksida.

Satu salah faham popular yang berlaku ialah merokok dikaitkan dengan tingkah laku mencari idea atau mendapat ilham. Apa yang berlaku sebenarnya ialah, disebabkan ketagihan nikotin, fikiran mereka yang merokok akan lebih terganggu jika tiada rokok. Justeru, prestasi, idea, ilham dan fikiran yang bernas seseorang itu akan menjadi lebih baik selepas berhenti dan bebas pengaruh rokok.

Malah, prestasi seorang atlit atau pemain sukan juga akan meningkat selepas berhenti merokok. Ini kerana keupayaan fizikal dan mental kembali pulih kerana darah dapat bergabung dengan oksigen sepenuhnya, selain memperkayakan otak untuk berfikir dan otot lebih kuat tanpa pengaruh karbon monoksida.

Asap rokok yang dihidu oleh perokok atau mereka yang berada di sekelilingnya, akan memasuki rongga mulut dan hidung melalui kerongkong ke paru-paru. Kandungan asap rokok akan menyebabkan kerosakan tisu di sepanjang perjalanan di ruang ini. Ia boleh menyebabkan pelbagai penyakit di mulut, kerongkong, paru-paru dan barah. Asap akan melalui saluran pernafasan ke dalam paru-paru dan merosakkan saluran bronkus, menyebabkan bronkitis, penyakit di bahagian paru paru. Ia juga akan merosakkan pundi udara dalam paru-paru (alveoli) dan menyebabkan penyakit emfisima.

Asap rokok yang dihidu juga akan melalui saluran penghadaman dan pencernaan, yang boleh menyebabkan pelbagai penyakit di bahagian esofagus, perut dan pankreas.

Racun dalam asap rokok yang larut air akan memasuki sistem saluran darah dan dibawa ke seluruh badan. Bahan nikotin, bukan saja memberi sifat ketagihan, malah menyebabkan saluran darah arteri menjadi sempit. Ia juga merosakkan dinding arteri dan akan memudaratkan organ berkaitan.

Kesan ini, dalam jangka panjang, akan menyebabkan simptom kebas pada kaki, jari, migrain, sakit kepala, pedih ulu hati, kekejangan otot kaki, serangan penyakit jantung dan sebagainya.
Racun rokok akhirnya disaring dalam buah pinggang dan dihapuskan dari badan melalui air kencing. Dalam proses ini pula, berlaku satu lagi keracunan hasil penguraian kimia asap rokok yang turut merosakkan buah pinggang. Racun dalam air kencing juga menyebabkan kerosakan pundi kencing.

Racun akibat merokok juga mempunyai kesan tindak balas terhadap ubat-ubatan. Secara umum diketahui merokok boleh menjejaskan fungsi beberapa kumpulan enzim di hati dan ada kalanya ia boleh memperhebatkan kesan sampingan sesuatu ubat itu.

Ini menyebabkan perokok sendiri perlu lebih berwaspada apabila menggunakan ubat-ubatan manakala pesakit atau individu yang mengambil ubat-ubatan, hendaklah berwaspada termasuk tidak mendekati orang merokok.

Perokok walaupun sedar risiko kesihatan yang dihadapi, sukar berhenti kerana sifat ketagihan nikotin, sama seperti penagih yang ketagihan heroin. Sebab itulah kita memerlukan suatu kekuatan yang dapat mengatasi masalah ketagihan ini dengan menggunakan Ramadan.

Pelbagai strategi dan aktiviti sedang disusun bagi membantu dan memudahkan perokok Muslim untuk berhenti merokok menjelang Ramadan yang mulia ini. Kempen intensif melalui media massa dan kaedah kreatif lain bagi meningkatkan kesedaran masyarakat terhadap bahaya rokok hingga ke akhir Ramadan 1424 Hijrah, diharapkan boleh membantu perokok mengetahui betapa pentingnya menangani masalah ini.

Ramadan bulan yang mulia, menyediakan suatu suasana yang sangat baik untuk berhenti merokok. Suasana di tempat kerja, pejabat, rumah pada waktu siang dan malam sangat berbeza berbanding bulan lain.

Lebih 95 peratus perokok Muslim menyatakan mudah berhenti merokok pada Ramadan. Marilah kita sama-sama memanfaatkan sepenuhnya keberkatan yang dibawa bersama Ramadan al-Mubarak untuk mencapai kecemerlangan di dunia dan akhirat. Semoga dengan kekuatan iman dan keyakinan, kita dapat melaksanakan ibadat dengan ikhlas selain mendapat kurniaan Allah agar membebaskan kita daripada bergantung kepada rokok, seterusnya menjaga kesejahteraan diri dan keluarga. Semoga Allah akan sentiasa memberi kita hidayah, bimbingan serta kejayaan di dunia dan juga akhirat.

Sumber: Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia

Falsafah Pendidikan Kebangsaan

Falsafah Pendidikan Negara

"Pendidikan di Malaysia adalah suatu usaha berterusan ke arah memperkembangkan lagi potensi individu secara menyeluruh dan bersepadu untuk mewujudkan insan yang seimbang dan harmonis dari segi intelek, rohani, emosi dan jasmani berdasarkan kepercayaan dan kepatuhan kepada Tuhan. Usaha ini adalah bagi melahirkan rakyat Malaysia yang berilmu, bertanggungjawab dan berkeupayaan mencapai kesejahteraan diri serta memberi sumbangan terhadap keharmonian dan kemakmuran masyarakat dan negara"

-Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia

Graduan Pakar R&D

USAHA BERHASIL: Graduan UniKL meraikan kejayaan selepasMajlis Konvokesyen Ketiga, di Kuala Lumpur, semalam.

Graduan wajar miliki kepakaran bidang R&D

Oleh Siti Fatimah Mohamed Anwar

Canselor UniKL saran pilih kursus selaras keperluan negara

KUALA LUMPUR: Tengku Mahkota Pahang, Tengku Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah mahu graduan universiti tempatan memiliki kepakaran dalam bidang penyelidikan dan pembangunan (R&D) bagi merealisasikan hasrat menjadikan Malaysia sebagai negara pengeluar produk terkemuka.

Sehubungan itu, baginda menyarankan penuntut universiti membuat pemilihan kursus yang tepat selaras keperluan negara untuk memastikan golongan itu mampu menembusi pasaran kerja selepas tamat pengajian.Baginda yang juga Canselor Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL) bertitah, universiti perlu menyediakan modul pelajaran berkualiti mencakupi bidang R&D yang sekali gus membuka peluang graduan tempatan berjinak-jinak dengan industri penghasilan produk.“

Bagi melahirkan graduan bertaraf dunia yang mempunyai kepakaran dalam pelbagai bidang, mentaliti kita juga harus bertaraf dunia. Prasarana, tenaga pengajar dan keseluruhan sistem pembelajaran juga perlu setanding dengan negara maju.“Tiada guna jika prasarana kelas pertama tetapi mentaliti masih di kelas ketiga. Justeru, bagi mencapai hasrat itu kita tidak seharusnya gentar untuk meletakkan impian besar, kerana ia akan menjadi pemangkin untuk mencapai kejayaan yang gemilang,” titahnya.

Baginda bertitah demikian sempena Majlis Konvokesyen Ketiga UniKL, di sini semalam. Hadir sama, Menteri Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin dan Pengerusi Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara), Brig Jen (B) Datuk Seri Hamid Zainal Abidin. Pada majlis itu seramai 1,750 pelajar dari tujuh kampus cawangan dan dua institut universiti berkenaan menerima Ijazah Sarjana Muda dan Diploma masing-masing. Penganugerahan itu juga mengukir sejarah manis kepada UniKL apabila kumpulan pertama seramai 721 pelajar daripada 10 program Ijazah Sarjana Muda dan Lapan program diploma menamatkan pengajian mereka. Sementara itu, pasangan kembar Norlaila dan Norlaili Mohamad Anuar, 22, yang memperoleh Diploma Animasi, berkata akhirnya hasrat untuk menggenggam segulung diploma bersama tercapai.Mereka turut berhasrat melanjutkan pengajian pada peringkat Ijazah Sarjana Muda tahun depan.“

Saya tidak mahu berpisah dengan kakak, kalau boleh saya ingin bersama dengannya sehinggalah masing-masing mendirikan rumah tangga. Kami mahu menjadi pasangan kembar yang berjaya di dunia, itulah impian kami berdua,” kata Norlaili sambil diperhatikan kakaknya Norlaila.

Sumber: Berita Harian, 170806

Belia & Rakan Sebaya: Sahabat Sejati

Pesan Rasul dalam memilih sahabat

“Seseorang itu atas agama (perjalanan) rakannya, maka hendaklah seseorang kamu memperhatikan siapa yang harus dipilih menjadi rakan.”

Pesan Imam Al-Ghazali

“Hendaklah sahabat yang dipilih seorang yang waras fikirannya, baik budi pekerti, tidak fasik dan tidak terlampau mementingkan hal keduniaan.


SAHABAT SEJATI

Haslinda Lukman

“Sebaik baik sahabat disisi Allah ialah orang yang terbaik terhadap temannya dan sebaik baik jiran disisi Allah ialah orang yang terbaik terhadap jirannya” (H.R al-Hakim)

'Teman yang paling baik adalah apabila kamu melihat wajahnya, kamu teringat akan Allah, mendengar kata-katanya menambahkan ilmu agama, melihat gerak-gerinya teringat mati..'

ALLAH SWT mencipta makhluk di atas muka bumi ini berpasang-pasangan. Begitu juga manusia, tidak akan hidup bersendirian. Kita tidak boleh lari dari berkawan dan menjadi kawan kepada seseorang. Jika ada manusia yang tidak suka berkawan atau melarang orang lain daripada berkawan, dia dianggap ganjil dan tidak memenuhi ciri-ciri sebagai seorang manusia yang normal.

Inilah antara hikmah, kenapa Allah SWT mencipta manusia daripada berbagai bangsa, warna kulit dan bahasa. Firman Allah SWT dalam surah al-Hujurat ayat 13, yang bermaksud:

“Wahai umat manusia! Sesungguhnya Kami telah menciptakan kamu dari lelaki dan perempuan, dan Kami telah menjadikan kamu berbagai bangsa dan berpuak-puak, supaya kamu berkenal-kenalan (dan beramah mesra antara satu sama lain). Sesungguhnya semulia-mulia kamu di sisi Allah ialah orang lebih bertakwa. Sesungguhnya Allah maha mengetahui, lagi maha mendalam pengetahuanNya.’

Hubungan persahabatan adalah hubungan yang sangat mulia, kerana kawan atau sahabat berperanan dalam membentuk personaliti individu. Ada kawan yang sanggup bersusah-payah dan berkongsi duka bersama kita, dan tidak kurang juga kawan yang nampak muka semasa senang dan hanya sanggup berkongsi kegembiraan sahaja.

Pendek kata sahabat boleh menentukan corak hidup kita. Justeru, jika salah pilih sahabat kita akan merana dan menerima padahnya. Selari dengan hadith Rasululah saw yang bermaksud:

“ Seseorang itu adalah mengikut agama temannya, oleh itu hendaklah seseorang itu meneliti siapa yang menjadi temannya” (H.R Abu Daud).

Bak kata pepatah Arab,

“ Bersahabat dengan penjual minyak wangi, kita akan menerima percikan wangiannya, manakala bersahabat dengan tukang besi, percikan apinya akan mencarikkan baju kita.”

Apakah ciri-ciri seorang sahabat yang baik? Seorang bijak pandai berpesan kepada anak lelakinya:

“Wahai anakku, sekiranya engkau berasa perlu untuk bersahabat dengan seseorang, maka hendaklah engkau memilih orang yang sifatnya seperti berikut:

• Jika engkau berbakti kepadanya, dia akan melindungi kamu
• Jika engkau rapatkan persahabatan dengannya, dia akan membalas balik persahabatan kamu
• Jika engkau memerlu pertolongan daripadanya, dia akan membantu kamu
• Jika engkau menghulurkan sesuatu kebaikan kepadanya, dia akan menerimanya dengan baik
• Jika dia mendapat sesuatu kebajikan (bantuan) daripada kamu, dia akan menghargai atau menyebut kebaikan kamu
• Jika dia melihat sesuatu yang tidak baik daripada kamu, dia akan menutupnya
• Jika engkau meminta bantuan daripadanya, dia akan mengusahakannya
• Jika engkau berdiam diri (kerana malu hendak meminta), dia akan menayakan kesusahan kamu
• Jika datang sesuatu bencana menimpa dirimu, dia akan meringankan kesusahan kamu
• Jika engkau berkata kepadanya, nescaya dia akan membenarkan kamu
• Jika engkau merancangkan sesuatu, nescaya dia akan membantu kamu
• Jika kamu berdua berselisih faham, nescaya dia lebih senang mengalah untuk menjaga kepentingan persahabatan
• Dia membantumu menunaikan tanggungjawab serta melarang melakukan perkara buruk dan maksiat
• Dia mendorongmu mencapai kejayaan didunia dan akhirat.
  

Sebagai remaja yang terlepas daripada pandangan ayah ibu berhati-hatilah jika memilih kawan. Kerana kawan, kita bahagia tetapi kawan juga boleh merosakkan kita.

Hati-hatilah atau tinggalkan sahaja sahabat seperti dibawah:

• sahabat yang tamak: ia sangat tamak, ia hanya memberi sedikit dan meminta yang banyak, dan ia hanya mementingkan diri sendiri.
• sahabat hipokrit: ia menyatakan bersahabat berkenaan dengan hal-hal lampau, atau hal-hal mendatang; ia berusaha mendapatkan simpati dengan kata-kata kosong; dan jika ada kesempatan membantu, ia menyatakan tidak sanggup.
• sahabat pengampu: Dia setuju dengan semua yang kamu lakukan tidak kira betul atau salah, yang parahnya dia setuju dengan hal yang tidak berani untuk menjelaskan kebenaran, di hadapanmu ia memuji dirimu, dan di belakangmu ia merendahkan dirimu.
• sahabat pemboros dan suka hiburan: ia menjadi kawanmu jika engkau suka pesta , suka berkeliaran dan ‘melepak’ pada waktu yang tidak sepatutnya, suka ke tempat-tempat hiburan dan pertunjukan.

Hati-hatilah memilih kawan, kerana kawan boleh menjadi cermin peribadi seseorang. Apa pun berkawanlah kerana Allah untuk mencari redha-NYA.

Sumber: http://www.islam.gov.my/e-rujukan/lihat.php?jakim=1319

Role and Place of Youth In South Africa

Role and Place of the Youth in Society, the ANC and the Struggle

The youth does not occupy a special perch outside its social environment. It is very much part of society. It mirrors the ramifications of the society within which it lives; it shares class and group loyalties; it engages in struggles for the realisation and defence of concrete social ideals and interests. Just as in class societies we have divisions into the haves and have-nots, owners of small enterprises and small plots of land, intellectuals and so on - we do have similar social gradations among the youth: working youth, students, peasants, petty bourgeoisie, intellectuals, exploiters.

The rung occupied by each section of the youth on the social ladder reflects their relation to the means of production; it could be a result of their social origins actual and adopted material and political status in the process of social interaction - or due to a combination of these and many other factors. Generally, the political outlook of each category of youth mirrors its social position; working youth or youth with a working class background identify with their class. Yet a political outlook contrary to objective interests could be acquired - for example in the case of intellectuals f rom a well-to-do background who abandon their class and adopt positions of the working people.

Thus the youth does not form a class on its own it is a heterogeneous group within society, reflecting more or less the material and spiritual divisions in that society. However, within this milieu, it is identifiable as youth not merely for its age group and numerical predominance, but also for certain social characteristics which are peculiar to it. What are these qualities?

The young and rising generation constitutes a representative of the future in the broadest sense; the future of any society depends on the practical and spiritual moulding of the youth. Classes and strata act not only for their own good but also for the good of their rising generation. The youth grows and is moulded within a specific social environment - be it in the comfort and sleek surroundings of the capitalist home, school and boardrooms, the squalid conditions of the working class ghetto, the backward and wretched environment of the rural poor, or the confines of a petty-bourgeois upbringing.

The stage of youth is one of assimilating knowledge of all kinds. Avidly searching for a rational understanding of the surrounding world, the youth therefore displays curiosity, rebelliousness, impassioned and uncontrolled enthusiasms; it quickly forms judgements as it abandons others. Such a stage is crucial in the moulding of stable social being; thus all classes and strata wage relentless battles for the hearts and minds of the youth.

The youth is as enthusiastic in its search for knowledge as it is militant in the fight for the realisation of the ideals it holds dear. Having evolved an understanding of the 'right and the wrong', it displays great zeal and verve in fighting for what it conceives as just. Within the different class formations it acts as a powerful driving force, a dynamo of the class, national and international battles. It is to be found in the front trenches of practical and theoretical struggles displaying both initiative and self-sacrifice.

Due to their inexperience and illusions bred of their psychological make-up, young people can be easily swayed into positions that are counter to their interests. Thus a young worker could seek false comfort by abstaining from class battles or even by joining the exploiter's state machinery. Not seldom, young people are enticed en masse to adopt social and cultural value systems alien to their interests.

All societies in general, and classes in particular, pay special attention to the youth. For any people or class to shirk this responsibility is to do great harm to itself. This applies particularly to peoples struggling to break the shackles of oppression and exploitation. No revolution can be victorious without the effective education, organisation and mobilisation of the youth into political action. It is none other than the youth (especially the working youth) who form the core of the 'political' and 'military' armies of the revolution. Their youthful energy enables them to perform great feats in the theatre of battle; their vigour enables them to be the most active transmitters of ideas and skills; their zeal spreads into their surroundings like wild-fire.
The youth acts as such not as a separate contingent vis-a-vis the motive force of the revolution, but as an integral part thereof. The struggles of the youth would not count for much if they were not linked to those of the working people. At the same time, the youth lends the revolutionary struggles this youthful vigour only if and when it enjoys the guidance and experienced tutelage of the older generation. This calls for a wise approach in dealing with the youth; a balanced and timeous combination of severity and patience, seriousness and good humour.

The fact that the youth has to act as an integral part of the revolutionary classes and strata does not preclude its organisation and action as youth per se. In fact, its dynamising role is greatly facilitated by its organisation and mobilisation around issues that affect it as youth. It is through such organisations that the revolutionary forces are able to impart skills and experience in a manner fitting the peculiar station of the youth, and to galvanise it into a broad movement attracting all potential participants.

Within a revolutionary movement, the youth not only displays the qualities mentioned above; most often it is in the majority. 'Is it not natural that the youth should predominate in our Party?' Engels once retorted. 'We are the party of the future, and the future belongs to the youth. We are a party of innovators, and it is always the youth that most eagerly follows innovators. We are a party that is waging a self-sacrificing struggle against old rottenness, and youth is always the first to undertake a self-sacrificing struggle.'

Indeed, this also places great challenges on any revolutionary movement. It has to adopt a scientific system of educating its youth members - to develop in them the ability to combine knowledge and practice, verve and cool-headedness, innovation and experience. The young members have to be taught not only to be good revolutionaries but to understand the people and relate to them in a patient and respectful manner while at the same time raising the political consciousness of the masses. The youth should be made to feel that they are an organic part of the revolutionary movement, to see themselves developing in a purposeful manner, to be trained in all skills taking into account the reality that young people are the future leaders of any movement or society. In brief, young people can play a meaningful role in a revolutionary movement only if there is a systematic cadre policy to ensure their development.

These are some of the universal manifestations of the place and role of youth in society. These have been and continue to be borne out by the practical experience of struggles all over the world; by the heroic youth who fought for the victory of the Great October Socialist Revolution and in its defence and construction of socialism, in the anti-fascist and anti-colonial struggles in Europe, Africa, Latin America and Asia, in the popular struggles of the Angolan and Mozambican peoples, in Cuba and Nicaragua, in Namibia and Palestine. What are our concrete tasks in this regard?

For us to effectively harness the potential of our youth, it is necessary to recognise that the youth will not automatically come to the side of the revolutionary forces. For them to do so there has to be persistent, painstaking daily work by our movement. To mould and socialise the younger generation, that is, the creation of their personality and introducing it into social practice is a two-way process - on the one hand young people assimilate prior social experience, and on the other young people gradually apply in a creative way and further the experience they have acquired. Thus the youth are the object of social influence, and the subject of historical process. They assimilate the experience of previous generations, not as passive receivers; they creatively modify it, enrich and extend the legacy they have inherited in accordance with the requirements of their time, and the specific features of a given social moment.

It is with this understanding that we have to approach the mobilisation of our youth into the struggle. To effectively do so it is necessary to re-emphasise the impact that the current social, political and economic conditions have on their participation. We shall therefore examine the role and potential of the mainstream of the different categories of the youth.

The Working Youth

The working youth forms the most consistent and reliable section of the revolutionary movement 'and when they join the struggle of the working class, they fight for their own cause, and grow and become stronger in the struggle'. The links they have with the most advanced and revolutionary class, their common class interests and objectives with the proletariat as a whole, accords the working youth a leading position in the revolutionary youth movement.
In the process of building the Youth Congresses and youth movement inside the country, we have to take cognisance of this fact. We have to consciously guide the process to result in them becoming the backbone of the emerging youth movement.

Given the militant struggles of the whole working class in which the youth become steeled revolutionaries, their participation in the youth movement will inject into it this acquired tradition. This will give full political expression to their youthful zeal and create avenues k r them to creatively contribute to the struggles, demanding the participation of the youth as youth. The colonial exploitative system of apartheid unleashes its vicious character particularly in relation to the working youth. They have to bear a significant share of the burden of the crisis shifted onto the working people by the capitalist system. They will therefore easily appreciate the necessity for organising and mobilising the unemployed youth into organised political activity.

In this context also falls the responsibility of mobilising the rural working youth - those who are on contract to the cities and those working on agricultural farms. The former, though unstable due to constant mobility, ultimately bring with them the experience of working class organisation and struggles into the rural areas. Their mobilisation, particularly bearing in mind their long-term potential as organisers among the rural youth, is of fundamental importance.

Lenin offers a concrete guide on how to harness their potential: 'Young workers need the experience of veteran fighters against oppression and exploitation, of those who have organised many strikes . . . who are wise in revolutionary traditions and have a broad political outlook'. Indeed the sincere delusions of young revolutionaries will be overcome if they are given help by old-guard fighters in good time.

We always need to examine the revolutionary potential of the working youth on the basis of a comprehensive and profound study of their socio-economic, legal and political status. Consideration should be given to the fact that their involvement in large-scale capitalist production is a historically proven phenomenon. It brings them face to face with their oppressors and this teaches them excellent lessons in class education.

The Student Youth
Historically this section of youth has been the organised and dynamic social force. The student youth have and continue to contribute and participate in the revolutionary struggle of our people. The socio-historical experience of students in our country falls within the characterisation of this category by Lenin as being 'the most responsive section of the intelligentsia ... most accurately reflects and expresses the development of class interests and political groupings in society as a whole'. They would not be what they are if their political grouping did not correspond to the political grouping of society as a whole. It is inevitable that the same groups existing among students are the same as in society.

Because of their social nature students are helpless without the support of the working class. Our own experience shows that they turn to the working masses if they have to achieve results. This is because it is only in alliance with and led by the working class that students can display their revolutionary initiative to the full. Actions by students have to be co-ordinated with political action by the working class - the November Vaal stay-at-home and Eastern Cape struggles bear testimony to this truth.

It is also correct to recognise the necessity for students to organise themselves as students and to define their sector of struggle against the common enemy: to develop democratic organisations rooted amongst the students, whose interests and aspirations they represent and fight for as an integral part of the democratic movement of our people. Their heterogenous social character becomes a concrete basis from which we work out our approach to them. We also need to emphasise their common ground, which gives them a political platform for joint, co-ordinated struggles, e.g. the Education Charter. The current profile of the student movement and the profound understanding of their role and position in the struggle accords to the demands of our situation. Their organisational base and influence needs to be strengthened across the whole spectrum of the student community given the special colonial character of our society. Racial polarisation should not be a fetter to the task of mobilising our whole student community, but should be a challenge. Moving from the reality that the regime is failing and cannot fulfil the aspirations of all the people irrespective of nationality, we need to boldly move into all communities and organise them.

Engels anticipated that, under specific conditions, even the bourgeoisie would produce 'young men ... who ... would be very useful in the movement'. Indeed, our situation accords to this profound anticipation. In any case students are a transient social group.

The Role of the Youth Section
As an integral part of the vanguard movement, the youth section is charged with the specialised task of fulfilling the strategic objectives of the movement with the greater involvement of the youth. It has the responsibility of organising, mobilising and guiding all our youth into participation in the revolutionary struggle of our people. It does not act as a separate organism but as a reliable reserve and shock force of the movement. Since the growth of the movement lies in the recruitment of new forces, mostly young, the youth section should act as a nursery of the revolutionary upbringing of those who come into the movement. It should provide the material requirements for the fulfilment of a cadre policy designed to meet all the demands of our struggle.

It is necessary to stress that the youth section cannot be regarded as a mass youth league, but a guiding nucleus. This is because of the objective conditions imposed by operating within the confines of exile. This understanding is fundamental since it defines the characteristics of the auxiliary role that it assumes within the ANC. Given the necessary guidance and deriving its inspiration from the experiences of other peoples, the youth section can fulfil its important role as an organised special task force within the African National Congress.

Conclusion
The youth in our country, like young people everywhere in capitalist countries, are searching for genuine ideals and values which they can live by, and for revolutionary ways to win them. Thus the Freedom Charter has become deeply rooted in the hearts of our youth as a beacon which meets their genuine aspirations. Their involvement in mass democratic political actions and quest for revolutionary theory and grasp for the primacy of organisation, are features characteristic of the process of involving our youth in struggle. These are due to the objective conditions under which they mobilise, organise and fight.

The subjective factor is equally significant: the correct ideological and political orientation of the youth, the ability of the movement (and in particular the youth section) to impart to the protests by the youth a conscious and organised nature. Our ability to educate them in a genuine revolutionary spirit is a key factor. The future of any movement or nation is dependent also on the integration of the youth in the political and other social activities. The grooming of those who have to ensure that the genuine aspirations of the people are fully realised demands a conscious effort on the part of the revolutionary movement. The inexperience of the young provides the opportunity tor a systematic process of political upbringing. This involves bold decisions in giving heavy responsibilities to the youth. We correctly say the future is in their hands.

In the words of Comrade President O.R. Tambo: 'A country, a movement, a people, that does not value its youth, does not deserve its future'. Indeed the movement needs to deepen its value tor the youth and harness its potential.

Resources: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/history/conf/kabyouth.html

Positive Youth Development Construct

Positive Youth Development Constructs

The first task of this project was to establish operational definitions or criteria for positive youth development. Through a literature review, consultation with project officers, and a consensus meeting of the project advisory board, an operational definition of positive youth development was created. For the purposes of this review, positive youth development programs are approaches that seek to achieve one or more of the following objectives:

Promotes bonding
Fosters resilience
Promotes social competence
Promotes emotional competence
Promotes cognitive competence
Promotes behavioral competence
Promotes moral competence
Fosters self-determination
Fosters spirituality
Fosters self-efficacy
Fosters clear and positive identity
Fosters belief in the future
Provides recognition for positive behavior
Provides opportunities for prosocial involvement
Fosters prosocial norms.

Promotes Bonding

Bonding is the emotional attachment and commitment a child makes to social relationships in the family, peer group, school, community, or culture. Child development studies frequently describe bonding and attachment processes as internal working models for how a child forms social connections with others (Ainsworth, et al. 1978; Bowlby, 1982, 1979, 1973; Mahler et al., 1975). The interactions between a child and a child's caregivers build the foundation for bonding which is key to the development of the child's capacity for motivated behavior. Positive bonding with an adult is crucial to the development of a capacity for adaptive responses to change, and growth into a healthy and functional adult. Good bonding establishes the child's trust in others and in self. Inadequate bonding establishes patterns of insecurity and self-doubt. Very poor bonding establishes a fundamental sense of mistrust in self and others, creating an emotional emptiness that the child may try to fill in other ways, possibly through drugs, impulsive acts, antisocial peer relations, or other problem behaviors (Braucht, Kirby & Berry, 1978; Brook, Brook, Gordon, Whiteman & Cohen, 1990; Brook, Lukoff & Whiteman, 1980; Elliott et al., 1985; Kandel, Kessler & Margulies, 1978).

The importance of bonding reaches far beyond the family. How a child establishes early bonds to caregivers will directly affect the manner in which the child later bonds to peers, school, the community, and culture(s). The quality of a child's bonds to these other domains are essential aspects of positive development into a healthy adult (Brophy, 1988; Brophy & Good, 1986; Dolan, Kellam & Brown, 1989; Hawkins, Catalano & Miller, 1992). Strategies to promote positive bonding combined with the development of skills have proven to be an effective intervention for adolescents at risk for antisocial behavior (Dryfoos, 1990; Caplan, Weissberg, Grober, Sivo, Grady & Jacoby, 1992).

Operational Definition. For this review, a program was classified as promoting bonding if one or more of its components focused on developing the child's relationship with a healthy adult, positive peers, school, community, or culture.

Fosters Resilience
Resilience is an individual's capacity for adapting to change and stressful events in healthy and flexible ways. Resilience has been identified in research studies as a characteristic of youth who, when exposed to multiple risk factors, show successful responses to challenge, and use this learning to achieve successful outcomes (Rutter, 1985; Hawkins et al., 1992; Masten, Best & Garmezy, 1990; Werner, 1995, 1989). The National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council (1996: 4) defined resilience as "patterns that protect children from adopting problem behaviors in the face of risk." Rutter (1987a; 1985) described protective mechanisms associated with four main processes of resilience, including reduction of risk impact, reduction of negative behavior patterns, the establishment and maintenance of self esteem and self-efficacy, and the opening up of opportunities. Thornberry, Huizinga and Loeber (1995) suggested that resilience involves adaptive responses to such environmental stressors as changes in family or community circumstances.

Operational Definition. Programs were classified as fostering resilience if they emphasized strategies for adaptive coping responses to change and stress, and promoted psychological flexibility and capacity.

Promotes Competencies
The positive youth development construct of competence covers five areas of youth functioning, including social, emotional, cognitive, behavioral, and moral competencies. Programs are defined as promoting competence if they focus on building specific skills in these areas.

The multiple dimensions of competence began to be recognized in the past two decades (Gardner, 1993; Zigler & Berman, 1983). More recently, Weissberg & Greenberg (1997) urged that competence should be viewed and measured in research studies as a developmental outcome. While the enhancement of competence can help to prevent other negative outcomes (Botvin et al., 1995), competence can be specified and measured as an important outcome itself, indicative of positive development.

In recent years, many competence promotion efforts have sought to develop skills to integrate feelings (emotional competence) with thinking (cognitive competence) and actions (behavioral competence), in order to help the child achieve specific goals.

Social Competence. Social competence is the range of interpersonal skills that help youth integrate feelings, thinking, and actions in order to achieve specific social and interpersonal goals (Caplan et al., 1992; Weissberg, Caplan & Sivo, 1989). These skills include encoding relevant social cues; accurately interpreting those social cues; generating effective solutions to interpersonal problems; realistically anticipating consequences and potential obstacles to one's actions; and translating social decisions into effective behavior (Elias et al., 1994).

The benefits of social competence promotion programs were described by Caplan, et al., (1992:56):
Kornberg & Caplan (1980), who reviewed 650 papers on biopsychosocial risk factors and preventive interventions, concluded that competence training to promote adaptive behavior and mental health is one of the most significant developments in recent primary prevention research. In general, social competence promotion programs were designed to enhance personal and interpersonal effectiveness, and to prevent the development of maladaptive behavior through (a) teaching students developmentally appropriate skills and information, (b) fostering prosocial and health-enhancing values and beliefs, and (c) creating environmental supports to reinforce the real-life application of skills (Weissberg, Caplan & Sivo, 1989). Some researchers hypothesized that teaching students a general set of competencies that can be broadly applied to cope with diverse stressors is sufficient to prevent specific problem behaviors (e.g., Spivack & Shure, 1982). Recent research, however, indicates that skills are not automatically and consistently applied to every social task encountered (Caplan, Bennetto & Weissberg, 1991; Dodge, Pettit, McClaskey & Brown, 1986). To produce meaningful effects on specific target behaviors, it also appears necessary to include opportunities in SCP programs for students to practice and apply learned skills to specific, relevant social tasks (Hawkins & Weis, 1985). The combination of general social skills training with domain-specific instruction may be the most effective way to prevent particular psychosocial problems (Durlak, 1980).
Operational Definition. Programs were classified as promoting social competence if they provided training in developmentally appropriate interpersonal skills, and rehearsal strategies for practicing these skills. These skills included communication, assertiveness, refusal and resistance, conflict-resolution, and interpersonal negotiation strategies for use with peers and adults.

Emotional Competence.

Emotional competence is the ability to identify and respond to feelings and emotional reactions in oneself and others. Salovey and Mayer (1990) identified five elements of emotional competence, including knowing one's emotions, managing emotions, motivating oneself, recognizing emotions in others, and handling relationships. The W.T. Grant Consortium on the School-Based Promotion of Social Competence (1992: 136), provided a list of emotional skills that are ingredients of many prevention programs: "Identifying and labeling feelings, expressing feelings, assessing the intensity of feelings, managing feelings, delaying gratification, controlling impulses, and reducing stress." Goleman (1995) proposed empathy and hope as components of emotional intelligence.

Operational Definition. Programs were classified as promoting emotional competence if they sought to develop youth skills for identifying feelings in self or others, skills for managing emotional reactions or impulses, or skills for building the youth's self-management strategies, empathy, self-soothing, or frustration tolerance.

Cognitive Competence.

Cognitive competence includes two overlapping but distinct sub-constructs. The W.T. Grant Consortium on the School-Based Promotion of Social Competence (1992: 136) defined the first form of cognitive competence as the "ability to develop and apply the cognitive skills of self-talk, the reading and interpretation of social cues, using steps for problem-solving and decision-making, understanding the perspective of others, understanding behavioral norms, a positive attitude toward life, and self awareness."

The second aspect of cognitive competence is related to academic and intellectual achievement. The emphasis here is on the development of core capacities including the ability to use logic, analytic thinking, and abstract reasoning. Many preventive interventions have focused on promoting this form of cognitive competence to prevent school failure (Berrueta-Clement, Schweinhart, Barnett, Epstein & Weikart, 1984; Horacek, Ramey, Campbell, Hoffman & Fletcher, 1987; Seitz, Rosenbaum & Apfel, 1985), and strengthen commitment to school (Gottfredson, 1988; Johnston, O'Malley & Bachman, 1985), because low academic achievement is a risk factor for many negative youth outcomes including substance abuse (Holmberg, 1985; Jessor, 1976; Robins, 1980) and violence (Tolan & Guerra, 1994).

Operational Definition. A program was classified as promoting cognitive competence if it sought to influence a child's cognitive abilities, processes, or outcomes, including academic performance, logical and analytic thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, planning, goal-setting, and self-talk skills.

Behavioral Competence.

Behavioral competence refers to effective action. The W.T. Grant Consortium on the School-Based Promotion of Social Competence (1992: 136), identified three dimensions of behavioral competence: "Nonverbal communication (through facial expressions, tone of voice, style of dress, gesture or eye contact), verbal communication (making clear requests, responding effectively to criticism, expressing feelings clearly), and taking action (helping others, walking away from negative situations, participating in positive activities)."

Operational Definition. Programs were classified as promoting behavioral competence if they taught skills and provided reinforcement for effective behavior choices and action patterns, including nonverbal and verbal strategies.

Moral Competence.

Moral competence is a youth's ability to assess and respond to the ethical, affective, or social justice dimensions of a situation. Piaget (1952, 1965) described moral maturity as both a respect for rules and a sense of social justice. Kohlberg (1963, 1969, 1981) defined moral development as a multi-stage process through which children acquire society's standards of right and wrong, focusing on choices made in facing moral dilemmas. Hoffman (1981) said that the roots of morality are in empathy, or empathic arousal, which has a neurological basis and can be either fostered or suppressed by environmental influences. He also asserted that empathic arousal eventually becomes an important mediator of altruism, a quality that many youth interventions try to promote in young people.

Operational Definition. A program was classified as promoting moral competence if it sought to promote empathy, respect for cultural or societal rules and standards, a sense of right and wrong, or a sense of moral or social justice.

Fosters Self-Determination
Self-determination is the ability to think for oneself, and to take action consistent with that thought. Fetterman et al. (1996) defined self-determination as the ability to chart one's own course. Much of the literature on self-determination has emerged from work with disabled youth (Brotherson et al., 1995; Field, 1996; Sands & Doll, 1996; Wehmeyer, 1996) and from cultural identity work with ethnic and minority populations (Snyder & Zoann, 1994; Swisher, 1996). While some writers expressed concern that self-determination may emphasize individual development at the expense of group-oriented values (Ewalt & Mokuau, 1995), others linked self-determination to innate psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 1994).

Operational Definition. Programs were classified as promoting self-determination if their strategies sought to increase youths' capacity for empowerment, autonomy, independent thinking, or self-advocacy, or their ability to live and grow by self-determined internal standards and values (may or may not include group values).

Fosters Spirituality
A search of the literature across the various disciplines associated with positive youth development did not produce a definition of spirituality appropriate to this review. To capture components of either religiosity or non-traditional forms of applied spiritual practice, spirituality is defined here as "relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; concerned with or affecting the soul; of, from, or relating to God; of or belonging to a church or religion" (Webster's New College Dictionary, 1995). The construct of spirituality has been associated in some research with the development of a youth's moral reasoning, moral commitment, or a belief in the moral order (Hirschi, 1969; Stark & Bainbridge, 1997). Recent reviews of the relationship between religiosity and adolescent well-being found that religiosity was positively associated with prosocial values and behavior, and negatively related to suicide ideation and attempts, substance abuse, premature sexual involvement, and delinquency (Benson, 1992; Benson, Donahue & Erickson, 1990; Donahue & Benson, 1995). Several authors (Meyer & Lausell, 1996) recently argued for the value of including a "higher power" in violence prevention efforts, asserting that promoting an adolescent's understanding of his or her spiritual belief system will positively contribute to other aspects of the young person's development. Another author suggested that because adolescence is inherently a developmental stage characterized by the search for meaning, spiritual exploration should be supported through assisting youth in finding appropriate reading materials to address their questions (Mendt, 1996).

Operational Definition. Programs were classified as fostering spirituality if they promoted the development of beliefs in a higher power, internal reflection or meditation, or supported youth in exploring a spiritual belief system, or sense of spiritual identity, meaning, or practice.

Fosters Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy is the perception that one can achieve desired goals through one's own action. Bandura (e.g. 1989:1175) stated that "Self-efficacy beliefs function as an important set of proximal determinants of human motivation, affect, and action. They operate on action through motivational, cognitive, and affective intervening processes." Strategies associated with self-efficacy beliefs include personal goal setting, which is influenced by self-appraisal of one's capabilities (Bandura, 1993, 1986). Others have documented that the stronger the perceived self-efficacy, the higher the goals people set for themselves and the firmer their commitment to them (Locke, Frederick, Lee & Bobco, 1984). Prevention science studies showed that problem behaviors are mediated by cognitive, emotional, attitudinal, personality, and social factors including poor coping skills, anxiety, need for social approval, favorable attitudes toward use and a lack of self-efficacy (Hawkins, Lishner, Catalano & Howard, 1986; Holden, Moncher, Schinke & Barker, 1990).

Operational Definition. Programs were classified as fostering self-efficacy if their strategies included personal goal-setting, coping and mastery skills, or techniques to change negative self-efficacy expectancies or self-defeating cognitions.

Fosters Clear and Positive Identity
Clear and positive identity is the internal organization of a coherent sense of self. The construct is associated with the theory of identity development emerging from studies of how children establish their identities across different social contexts, cultural groups, and genders. Identity is viewed as a "self-structure," an internal, self-constructed, dynamic organization of drives, abilities, beliefs, and individual history, which is shaped by the child's navigation of normal crises or challenges at each stage of development (Erikson, 1968). Erikson described overlapping yet distinct stages of psychosocial development that influence a child's sense of identity throughout life, but which are especially critical in the first 20 years. If the adolescent or young adult does not achieve a healthy identity, role confusion can result. Developmental theorists assert that successful identity achievement during adolescence depends on the child's successful resolution of earlier stages.

Identity formation is a complex process even under the best circumstances. (Douvan & Adelson, 1966; Offer & Offer, 1975; Waterman, 1985). Stages of identity development are linked to gender differences in pre-adolescence and adolescence, revealing a series of identity aspects for girls that are not parallel to those of boys (Gilligan, 1982). Investigations of the positive identity development of gay and bisexual youth have become a focus for some researchers (Johnston & Bell, 1995).

For youth of color, the development of positive identity and its role in healthy psychological functioning is closely linked with the development of ethnic identity (Mendelberg, 1986; Parham & Helms, 1985; Phinney, 1990, 1991; Phinney, Lochner & Murphy, 1990; Plummer, 1995), issues of bicultural identification (Phinney & Devich-Navarro, 1997), and bicultural or cross-cultural competence (LaFromboise, Coleman & Gerton, 1993; LaFromboise & Rowe, 1983). Some have suggested that it is healthy for ethnic minority youth to be consciously socialized to understand the multiple demands and expectations of both the majority and minority culture (Spencer, 1990; Spencer & Markstrom-Adams, 1990). This process may offer psychological protection through providing a sense of identity that captures the strengths of the ethnic culture, and helps buffer experiences of racism and other risk factors (Hill et al., 1994). This may also enhance prosocial bonding to adults who can help youths to counter potential interpersonal violence in their peer groups (Hill et al., 1994; Wilson, 1990).

Several studies have suggested a positive relationship between ethnic identity and social adjustment (Grossman, Wirt & Davids, 1985; Paul & Fisher, 1980; Tzuriel & Klein, 1977). Ethnic identity achievement includes self-identification as a group member, a sense of belonging, and positive attitudes toward one's group (Phinney, 1990).

Operational Definition. Programs were classified as fostering clear and positive identity if they sought to develop healthy identity formation and achievement in youth, including positive identification with a social or cultural sub-group that supports their healthy development of sense of self.

Fosters Belief in the Future
Belief in the future is the internalization of hope and optimism about possible outcomes. This construct is linked to studies on long-range goal setting, belief in higher education, and beliefs that support employment or work values. "Having a future gives a teenager reasons for trying and reasons for valuing his life" (Prothrow-Stith, 1991: 57). Research demonstrates that positive future expectations predict better social and emotional adjustment in school, and a stronger internal locus of control, while acting as a protective factor in reducing the negative effects of high stress on self-rated competence (Wyman, Cowen, Work & Kerley, 1993).

Operational Definition. Programs which sought to influence a child's belief in his or her future potential, goals, options, choices, or long range hopes and plans were classified as promoting belief in the future. Strategies included guaranteed tuition to post-secondary institutions, school-to-work linkages, future employment opportunities, or future financial incentives to encourage continued progress on a prosocial trajectory. Belief in the future could also be fostered by programs designed to influence youth's optimism about a healthy and productive adult life.

Provides Recognition for Positive Behavior
Recognition for positive involvement is the positive response of those in the social environment to desired external behaviors by youths. According to social learning theory, behavior is in large part a consequence of the reinforcement or lack of reinforcement that follows action. Behavior is strengthened through reward (positive reinforcement) and avoidance of punishment (negative reinforcement) or weakened by aversive stimuli (positive punishment) and loss of reward (negative punishment) (Bandura, 1973; Akers et al., 1979). Reinforcement affects an individual's motivation to engage in similar behavior in the future. Social reinforcers have major effects on behavior. These social reinforcers can come from the peer group, family, school, or community (Akers et al., 1979).
Operational Definition. Programs that created response systems for rewarding, recognizing, or reinforcing children's prosocial behaviors were classified as using recognition for positive behavior.

Provides Opportunities for Prosocial Involvement
Opportunity for prosocial involvement is the presentation of events and activities across different social environments that encourage youths to participate in prosocial actions. Providing prosocial opportunities in the non-school hours has been the focus of much discussion and study (Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, 1992; Pittman, 1991). In order for a child to acquire key interpersonal skills in early development, positive opportunities for interaction and participation must be available (Hawkins et al., 1987; Patterson, Chamberlain & Reid, 1982; Pentz, et al., 1989b). In adolescence, it is especially important that youth have the opportunity for interaction with positively oriented peers and for involvement in roles in which they can make a contribution to the group, whether family, school, neighborhood, peer group, or larger community (Dryfoos, 1990).

Operational Definition. Programs were classified as providing opportunities for prosocial involvement if the intervention offered activities and events in which youths could actively participate, make a positive contribution, and experience positive social exchanges.

Fosters Prosocial Norms
Programs that foster prosocial norms seek to encourage youth to adopt healthy beliefs and clear standards for behavior through a range of approaches. These may include providing youth with data about the small numbers of people their age who use illegal drugs, so that they decide that they do not need to use drugs to be "normal;" encouraging youth to make explicit commitments in the presence of peers or mentors, not to use drugs or to skip school; involving older youth in communicating healthy standards for behavior to younger children; or encouraging youth to identify personal goals and set standards for themselves that will help them achieve these goals (Hawkins et al., 1992; Hawkins, Catalano et al., 1992).

Operational Definition. Programs were classified as fostering prosocial norms if they employed strategies for encouraging youths to develop clear and explicit standards for behavior that minimized health risks and supported prosocial involvement.

Resources: http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/PositiveYouthDev99/chapter2.htm

Youth: Beauty & Peace

Youth is full of potential.

Guide them to the right path.

Blow their spirit.

Polish their potential.

Then, let's them create the world of peace and beauty.

4H

As a summary, 4H is stand for Head, Heart, Hands and Health

HEAD - Critical thinking and problem solving

(Learning to think, making decisions,understanding the “why’s,” and gaining new and valuable knowledge)

HEART – Beautiful heart: kind natured and symphathetic

(Being concerned with the welfare of others,accepting the responsibilities of citizenship, determiningvalues and attitudes by which to live, and learning how towork with others)

HANDS - Benefit others: Useful, helpful and skilful

(Learning new skills, perfecting skills alreadyknown, and developing pride in work and respect for it).

HEALTH – Healthy lifestyle

(Practicing healthful living, protecting thewell-being of self and others, and making constructive use of leisure time).

You need more information about 4H?. Click bellow:

• Indiana 4H Leader Guide
• White Country 4H
• Iowa State University