Cultural Differences in Residential Child and Youth Care: Analyzing Perspectives

In many Western-European countries, clients from ethnic minority groups form an increasingly large proportion of the client population of child and youth care centers. This development raises the question of how to respond to cultural differences between professionals and clients. In this article we discuss the concepts clinical reality, world view, and acculturation to provide a theoretical framework for studying the influence of cultural differences on the care and support process. We focus on Moroccan youth in Dutch residential youth care centers and present a case from our study to illustrate the theoretical issues raised.     

Ultraviolet and volatility loss of herbicides

Herbicide 2,4-D formulated as a urea-type polymer was readily destroyed by long-wave uv (356-nm) irradiation, whereas conventional 2,4-D was more resistant. The opposite relationship was noted for polymeric and conventional formulations of dicamba. Polymerized 2,4-D was more resistant to thermal degradation (60°C) than non-polymerized formulations. Ultraviolet degradation of polymerized 2,4-D was eliminated by the incorporation of RYLEX-H and UVINUL D-50, industrial uv absorbers. Exposure of polymeric dicamba to 60°C heat, followed by trapping of the volatile component, indicated that 21 percent was lost by thermal degradation and 46.6 percent by volatilization. Comparable values for non-polymerized dicamba were 37.9 and 60.1 percent.     

Hard hats vs. soft hearts: The conflict between principles and reality in child and adolescent care and treatment programs

Much of child care in volves quick reactions based on one's automatic pilot derived from how we were parented. This paper is about two seemingly universal automatic pilot systems—the hard hats and the soft hearts. Hard hats are behavior management and modification oriented, while soft hearts are psychodynamically and counselling oriented. Typically, the hard hats tend to have the upper hand due to the nature of our culture, and they therefore have the effect of preventing the contributions of the soft hearts from being realized. That all too frequently sets up a dominant culture and a resentful minority situation. To correct this imbalance, a value orientation from the top which emphasizes mutual respect and utilization is suggested.Grateful acknowledgement is made to Ray Peterson for his helpful suggestions in the preparation of this paper.     

The Capacity to Change and Child and Youth Care Practice: A Program Example and Framework

Child and youth care practitioners are in the practice of facilitating and supporting change in individuals, families and communities. Therefore, as change agents it is important to uncover and understand the perspectives that direct ones practice. Personal and professional experiences, as well as a multitude of theoretical orientations, merge to create a child and youth care practitioners tool box. This article offers a brief foray into various change theories and provides examples of how these change theories direct and inform practice with youth and families at the Maples Adolescent Centre in British Columbia, Canada. This article suggests that systemic interventions are necessary to support enduring change in individuals and provides examples of how this is actualized with families and communities at the Maples Adolescent Centre. It concludes by advocating for the use of multiple theoretical orientations to direct child and youth care practitioners work as change agents.     

Levels of β-HCH,HCB, p,p′-DDE,p,p′-DDT and PCBs in human milk from a continental town in Croatia,Yugoslavia

Summary Concentrations of -HCH, HCB, p,p-DDE, p,p-DDT and PCBs were determined by gas chromatography in 50 human milk samples collected from the general population during 1981/1982 in a continental town in Croatia (Yugoslavia). The samples were collected between one and 22 weeks after delivery from mothers breast-feeding one child only. The mothers' age was 18 to 31 years, and they were nursing their first or second child. All 50 samples contained -HCH, HCB, p,p-DDE and PCBs, whereas p,p-DDT was present in 37 samples. The concentrations of -HCH, HCB, p,p-DDE, p,p-DDT and PCBs expressed on a whole milk basis were (median in g/kg): 11, 7.1, 67, 7.3 and 22 respectively, and expressed on a fat basis (median in mg/kg): 0.28, 0.21, 1.9, 0.18 and 0.62 respectively. The fat content was 3.7% (median). PCBs were present in a mixture containing penta-, hexa- and heptachlorobiphenyls.     

Biological aspects and self-evaluation of shiftwork adaptation

Summary Two male truck drivers working in a Brazilian cellulose plant and classifying themselves as well- and ill-adapted to a shiftwork schedule of 4 days-on and 1 day-off, participated in an autorhythmometric study. Psychophysiological self-ratings (calmness, stress and alertness), oral temperature measurements and urine collections (detection of K⁺,Na⁺ and 17-OH concentrations) were performed regularly during the waking period for 15 consecutive days during the shift schedule — the midday shift (11:00 to 19:00h), early-morning shift (03:00 to 11:00 h) and evening shift (18:00 to 02:00 h), including days-off. Cosine fitting of the data to a successive running one-day window revealed different individual temporal patterns, with the well-adapted subject showing a relatively stable phase relationship of the variables under study and the ill-adapted subject showing a less stable relationship. The different patterns could explain, at least partially, the fact that one subject feels adapted to shiftwork and the other not.Dedicated to the memory of Prof. Dr. Dr. Joseph Rutenfranz, former Director of the Institut für Arbeitsphysiologie, Dortmund, FRG, who contributed so much to the development of studies on occupational and environmental health     

Transsexual healing: Medicaid funding of sex reassignment surgery

Federal requirements for state Medicaid programs are surveyed, and case law regarding Medicaid funding of sex reassignment surgery is reviewed. States have attempted to exclude sex reassignment surgery (SRS) from Medicaid coverage on various bases, concluding, for example, that the procedure constituted cosmetic surgery. Judicial scrutiny of such exclusions has usually resulted in the state action being found violative of the federal Medicaid statute and accompanying regulations. In those cases upholding the state exclusion, the primary judicial obstacle to funding has been a determination that SRS is not medically necessary or is experimental. The author explores the recent scientific literature concerning long-term outcomes following SRS and concludes that the procedure, for purposes of Medicaid funding, is neither unnecessary nor experimental, and that the categorical exclusion of SRS from Medicaid coverage is therefore inappropriate. The author recommends case-specific determinations of eligibility for Medicaid funding, utilizing the standards of care promulgated by The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association.     

Assertive/leveling communication and empathy in adolescent drug abuse prevention

This paper presents the feelings reported by 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th graders when role playing situations in which they wanted to say no to alcohol/drugs or to talk to a friend who was using. These role plays were part of SAY IT STRAIGHT (SIS) training, which was described in the preceding paper. Youngsters described themselves as feeling good and having high self-respect/esteem only when they said no in an assertive/leveling way. Only youngsters toward whom an assertive/leveling no was addressed described themselves as surprised/shocked and respectful of the person who was saying no. Finally, youngsters reported that the most effective way to convince a friend to quit using and/or get help was to express caring and friendship, and to touch the friend rather than being aggressive/blaming, irrelevant or super-reasonable. This feedback from youngsters opens conceptual issues relevant to some assertiveness training and drug abuse prevention programs.The authors thank Kevin Miller and Antoinette Bradley for their help on the project.This research was supported in part by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health, Contract # N200073.     

Financial “Rules” for Child and Youth Care Managers

Contemporary realities demand that child and youth care managers cast off their traditional avoidance of all things financial. This article offers a jargon-free list of twelve financial rules for thriving in turbulent times. Grounded in a concept of client-centered, results-based agency performance, rules include promoting an entrepreneurial spirit throughout the organization, destroying the taboo on open discussion of financial matters, slashing program development time, and spending lavishly on recruitment and universal staff training.     

Absorption,metabolism and elimination of N,N-dimethylformamide in humans

Summary Excretion of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and DMF metabolites N-hydroxymethyl-N-methylformamide (MF), N-hydroxymethyl-formamide (F) and N-acetyl-S-(N-methylcarbamoyl)cysteine (AMCC) has been monitored in the urine of volunteers during and after their 8-h exposure to DMF vapour at a concentration of 10, 30 and 60 mg · m^–3. The pulmonary ventilation in these experiments was typically about 101 · min^–1 and the retention in the respiratory tract was 90%. After exposure to 30 mg DMF · m^–3, the yield of compound determined in the urine represented 0.3% (DMF), 22.3% (MF), 13.2% (F) and 13.4% (AMCC) of the dose absorbed via the respiratory tract. The excretion curves of the particular compounds attained their maximum 6–8h (DMF), 6–8h (MF), 8–14h (F) and 24–34h (AMCC) after the start of the exposure. The half-times of excretion were approximately 2, 4, 7 and 23 h respectively. In contrast to slow elimination of AMCC after exposure to DMF, AMCC was eliminated rapidly after AMCC intake. This discrepancy could be explained by rate-limiting reversible protein binding of a reactive metabolic intermediate of DMF, possibly methylisocyanate.     

The evaluation of pornography: Effects of attitude and perceived physiological reaction

Twenty-three medical and 28 nonmedical male student Ss read four erotic prose passages and then rated each on obscenity, censorship, and four semantic differential evaluation scales. Ss were given varying levels of false (experimenter-controlled) GSR feedback for each stimulus passage, as well as different explanations of the significance of this arousal feedback. Four-way analyses of variance showed that low Stolerance of erotica, pedophelic passage content, and GSR feedback indicating physiological arousal resulted in passages being labeled as more obscene and unfavorable. Explanations to Ss that GSR feed-back indicated sexual arousal resulted in more favorable ratings by the medical Ss and interacted with passage type for the nonmedical Ss. Concurrently monitored heart rate was not significantly influenced by any of the experimental variables and was (with one marginal exception) uncorrelated with any of the dependent labeling variables. An earlier version of this article was presented at the XVIIth International Congress of Applied Psychology, Liege, Belgium, July 1971.     

Concentrations and chromatographic profile of DDT metabolites and polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) residues in stranded beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from the St. Lawrence Estuary,Canada

The concentrations and high resolution gas Chromatographic profiles of DDT metabolites and polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) congeners were determined in blubber, liver, kidney and lung tissue and milk samples of stranded beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) collected at localities along the coasts of the Saint Lawrence Estuary, Canada from November 1983 through December 1984. The analyses indicate that the major PCB components of the tissues were 2,2,5,5-tétra-, 2,2,4,4,5-penta-, 2,2,3,4,4,5-hexa-, 2,2,4,4,5,5-hexa-, 2, 2,3,3,4,5-hexa-, 2,3,3,5,5,6-hexa-, 2,2,3,4, 5,5,6-hepta- and 2,2,3,4,4,5,5-heptachlorobiphenyls. Although the highest organochlorine chemical concentrations were found primarily in the blubber, concentrations of 1.72 g/g for PCB and 2.04 g/g for DDT were determined in one milk sample. No correlation was established between PCB,p,p-DDE and DDT concentrations and the fat content of the kidney liver and lung tissues. The Chromatographie patterns of the PCB congeners were similar from one tissue to another with the exception of the kidney; the profile indicates the retention of PCB congeners which are minor components in the other tissues. Relations of residue concentrations between tissue are described and the significance of congener-specific PCB analysis is discussed in terms of the structureactivity effects on PCB persistence and toxicity.Portions of this work were presented at the Sixth Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, Vancouver, British Columbia, November 22–26, 1985.     

The Emergence of Clinical Youthwork as a Profession: Implications for the Youthwork Field

This article examines the broad field of youthwork in the context of the established criteria of a profession and proposes a view of the traditional child and youth care emphasis on troubled and troubling populations as a subcategory, Clinical Youthwork, within the youthwork domain. In addition to broadening both constituencies, this would embed child and youth care professionally in the normalizing framework of the existing youthwork field.     

Advancing child and youth care: A model for integrating theory and practice through connecting education,training, and the service system

This article presents a comprehensive model for enabling connections to be made between theory and practice in the field of child and youth care, based on an analysis of current training and education in the field and a multi-step concept of theory-to-practice and practice-to-theory. The model presents a logical sequence of activities that generate and convey knowledge from two sources. One is formal empirical and research information; the other is the conceptualization of practitioners' direct experience. Both are reinforced by trainers and educators with dual connections with practice and training and education settings. The paper stresses that academic programs are a significant component of any profession, in that they are responsible for collecting and codifying emergent knowledge gathered from multiple sources.There is nothing so practical as a good theory. —Kurt Lewin (quoted in Hunt, 1987, p. 4) There is nothing so theoretical as good practice. —David Hunt (1987, p. 11)An earlier version of this paper was the winner of the 1989 Albert E. Trieschman Prize Competition, published author category, for the best original contribution to the literature of child care.     

Blood toluene as a biological index of environmental toluene exposure in the “normal” population and in occupationally exposed workers immediately after exposure and 16 hours later

Blood toluene was measured in a group of 100 workers occupationally exposed to a mean 8-h environmental toluene concentration of 128 g/l (34 ppm), and in a group of 269 normal subjects without occupational exposure to toluene. The mean blood toluene of the workers at the end of the shift and the following morning, after 16 h, was 457 and 38 g/l, respectively. The normal subjects had a blood toluene level of 1.1 g/l. On the basis of the highly significant correlation between blood toluene and occupational exposure, it can be calculated that environmental toluene exposure of 188 and 377 g/l (50 and 100 ppm) gives end-of-shift blood toluene levels of 690 and 1390 g/l, respectively. The corresponding blood toluene levels on the following morning are 50 and 100 /l, respectively.     

Measurement of manganese amelioration of cadmium toxicity inChlorella pyrenoidosa using turbidostat culture

Cadmium (Cd) toxicity and amelioration of Cd toxicity by Mn were measured inChlorella pyrenoidosa, using turbidostat culture. The responses were measured in terms of the maximum specific growth rate, _max, of the populations. In turbidostat culture _max is a dependent variable that can be measured continuously. Cd (as CdCl₂· 2.5 H₂O) was added to control populations at a concentration of 1.8 M Cd. Toxicity was expressed after a 5 generation lag and resulted in a _max steady state 62% lower than the initial control after 2 generations. With continued Cd exposure, Mn (as MnCl₂ · 6H₂O) was then added stepwise to a concentration of 10.4 M Mn which caused a rapid, immediate increase in _max followed by linear increase until a steady-state plateau was reached at a _max 90% of control. The ameliorative response spanned 20 culture generations. After addition of Mn (10.4 M), cellular Cd concentration did not change and cellular Mn concentration increased. Increase in mean cell size accompanied Cd exposure and was significantly decreased when supplemented with 10.4 M Mn. Possible mechanisms of the amelioration are discussed.     

Lead,cadmium, and aluminum accumulation in the red swamp crayfishProcambarus clarkii G. collected from roadside drainage ditches in louisiana

The concentration of Pb, Cd, and Al in tissues of crayfishProcambarus clarkii were evaluated from several wetland sites located adjacent to roadways and were compared to crayfish harvested from a commercial site free from roadside influences. Abdominal muscle, hepatopancreas, alimentary tract, exoskeleton and blood were analyzed for metal content. Results indicated that levels of contamination obtained in almost all tissues of crayfish from roadside ditches contained significantly higher amounts of metals than those of the commercially harvested control crayfish (p = .05–.001). Detection limits of Pb, Cd, and Al ranged from 0.04 g Pb/g to 16.15 g Pb/g.001 g Cd/g to .13 g Cd/g, and 1.22 g Al/g to 981 g Al/g, respectively. Concentrations of Pb, Cd, and Al were highest in the hepatopancreas and alimentary tract. High levels of these elements were also detected in the exoskeleton. In contrast, muscle tissue was the least affected tissue. Several significant correlations among concentrations of metals were found when comparing a variety of tissues inProcambarus clarkii.     

Comprehensive pediatric primary care vs traditional care in an israeli population: Their influence on pediatric emergency room use and hospitalization

Emergency room (ER) utilization and hospitalization were studied as indicators of the impact of improvements in pediatric primary care services in an Israeli development town, Ofakim, population 12,000. One of the two pediatric services was upgraded in 1976 through the introduction of pediatric faculty, integration of preventive and curative services and conversion of the medical records to a problem-oriented format ( experimental clinic B ). The primary care system remained unchanged in the second clinic ( traditional clinic A ). During 1980, ER utilization by the B clinic population was 9.3/100 compared with 17.6/100 for the A clinic population. Fifty two percent of the B clinic population patients reaching the ER were hospitalized compared with 25% of A clinic patients.The lower ER utilization rate represents a significant saving for the health services, and educational interventions are suggested from the study. Analysis of ER utilization data seems to offer useful information for overall planning and monitoring of ambulatory services for a community.Corresponding author.     

“I never thought I'd make it quite this far”: A personal journey in international understanding

The author provides a brief account of her travel and experiences in several developing countries and explores some of the resulting personal transformations in her attitudes, assumptions and understandings. Persons working with children and youth can learn much from those countries which are economically under-developed, but which retain a simplicity in daily life and a commitment to the central importance of family and community.     

Captured by Capital: Youth Work and the Loss of Revolutionary Potential

This paper focuses on the tradition of radical youth work within western democratic societies. It argues that this tradition has been lost within the field of contemporary youth work through the appropriation of youth services by capitalist interests. Utilizing Marxist and post-Marxist analysis, the mechanisms by which capitalism has removed the revolutionary political possibilities of youth-adult collaborations are outlined and their impact on youth work practice delineated. The paper closes with a proposal for the beginnings of an alternative radical youth work based in shared risk and the transformative capacity of affect.