The Use of a Peer Supervision Group by Social Work Clinicians

We describe the origin and structure of a peer supervision group organized by social workers and ongoing for five years. Peer supervision was our response to a felt need for the social work practitioner to continue to develop professionally. The group has met a wide range of professional needs for social work practitioners. Group members were generally eager for the opportunity to discuss case material with one another. We foresee such peer group supervision as a viable mechanism for providing consultation and continuing education for experienced clinicians.     

Clinical Session Evaluation:

The purpose of the study was to establish whether clinical supervisors tend to agree or disagree in their evaluations of an individual clinical session, depending on whether or not they are familiar with the supemisee. Twelve supervisors with similar training and experience, all holding certificationby the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, were divided equally among three training institutions in three states. The supervisors independently evaluated the same videotaped therapy session with two evaluation forms. The supervisors in the three settines differed in their ratines of the session. with those who were familiar with the supervisee giving significantly more favorable evaluations. Implications for speech-language phathol- ogy supervision and research are discussed.     

Unexpected Challenges Faced by Psychotherapy Trainees

Abstract

Clinical supervision of school psychology candidates at the pre-internship level is an essential component of professional training and acculturation of new practitioners into the field. However, limited attention has been paid to issues regarding the clinical supervision of school psychologists at this level. Indeed, there appears to be a dearth of information in the literature addressing the supervision of school psychologists at the pre- and post-graduate levels. While this area remains largely unexamined, clinical supervision of school psychologists is an important component in the development of the profession at all levels. This article discusses supervision in the context of a competency-based model for training school psychology candidates at the pre-internship level.     

Persistence of lactase activity among Northern Europeans: A weighing of evidence for the calcium absorption hypothesis

Considered in this paper is a broad range of evidence bearing on the calcium absorption hypothesis that has been advanced to explain high frequencies of the gene for persistence of lactase activity (PLA) among adults in northern Europe. According to that hypothesis, lactase‐sufficient individuals in early northern Europe enjoyed a selective advantage over lactase‐deficient ones that led to high incidences of PLA in adults of the region. Northern Europeans, the hypothesis goes, suffered from a dietary shortage of vitamin D and, in addition, were unable to synthesize adequate vitamin D from the sun's ultraviolet radiation because of northern Europe's cloudiness and its location in higher latitudes. This led to chronic vitamin D deficiency along with a reduced ability to absorb calcium from milk and lactose‐rich dairy products. As a result, the deficiency diseases rickets—which affects infants and children and can leave a child with bowlegs and other bone defects—and osteomalacia—which weakens and deforms the bones of adults—were common in early northern Europe, and represented powerful selective forces that contributed to development of the highly depigmented skin that is typical of the region's peoples. In addition, the hypothesis goes, calcium absorption was enhanced by a process independent of vitamin D. Such enhancement, found especially or solely among lactase‐sufficient individuals, was brought on by ingestion of lactose in milk and milk products. Thus, persons who enjoyed high lactase activity through life were favored in the struggle for survival, which ultimately led northern European peoples to have among the highest incidences of PLA in the world.

In this article, evidence, much of it recent, is presented to show that lactase‐deficient humans are able to absorb calcium from milk as readily, or nearly as readily, as lactase‐sufficient humans. Evidence is also presented that rickets and osteomalacia occur in parts of the world that have an abundance of sunshine, whether originating from customs that limit exposure to sunshine or otherwise; that heavy cloud cover and high latitude need not result in vitamin D deficiency, rickets, and osteomalacia; that, indeed, osteological evidence from archeological sites in northern Europe indicates that rickets and osteomalacia were quite rare in antiquity; that those conditions appear to have become common in northern Europe only with the advent of the Industrial Revolution, too short a time to have been a significant factor in bringing on the high incidences of PLA that prevail today; and that, indeed, the calcium absorption hypothesis is not confirmed by historical, osteoarcheological, or bio‐medical evidence.     

Les besoins non couverts des personnes âgées en incapacités fonctionnelles à Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso)

BackgroundIn sub-Sahara Africa, the strong involvement of the family in multidimensional cares/supports of elderly is often presented like the family ensures almost everything to these people. Thus, few studies have focused on unmet needs of the elderly in their family or above. This study was conducted in Bobo-Dioulasso to identify those needs.MethodsThis is a longitudinal study including 58 people or 15 elderly and 43 caregivers from 15 families in Bobo-Dioulasso. In addition to regular observations of these families during 1 year, we conducted in-depth individual interview with each participant at the beginning and at the end of the study. The data were analyzed using QSR NVivo 8 software.ResultsA priori, respondents let believe that there is no unmet functional needs of the elderly in their family. However, the food, the first and main functional need of the elderly is not qualitatively satisfied by their family as well as other equipments or health needs. The quality of social cares/supports, biomedical cares and community supports are insufficient when these cares/supports are provided. The family demands many free or subsidized services to public or community structures then they are not currently available.DiscussionIn a context of widespread poverty, it is difficult for each actor of the social system of maintaining elderly in functional autonomy to provide services/supports of optimal quality. A synergy of action will reduce the unmet needs of the elderly in Bobo-Dioulasso.     

Supervision of Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Social Work Students by Heterosexual Field Instructors

Abstract

This paper describes findings from a qualitative study of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) student-heterosexual field instructor dyads. Each dyad was assessed for its level of agreement in characterizing the student's experience in field placement. Disagreements were common, with more than half of the dyads having 2–5 areas of disagreement. The following factors seemed to impact the level of student-field instructor agreement: the field instructor supervisory style, the quality of the student-field instructor relationship, field instructor comfort with addressing LGB development and practice issues, the student's perception of the agency climate as gay-friendly, and the student's level of disclosure and stage in coming out.     

The Impact of Managed Care on the Practice of Occupational Therapy by Hand Therapists

Current Occupational Therapy (OT) literature on managed care is limited to opinion or anecdotal experience. Questionnaires were mailed to 214 OTs practicing as hand therapists nationwide to test the null hypothesis that there was no difference in reimbursement or barriers to practice for OT services between patients enrolled in managed care organizations and those enrolled in fee-for-service insurance plans. Statistically significant results were obtained indicating greater barriers to reimbursement for OT under managed care. The primary effect has been the increased administrative demands it places on both therapists and patients. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: 1–800–342–9678. E-mail address: getinfo@haworth.com]     

Assessment of the Hemiparetic Upper Extremity

The Functional Test gives an accurate and immediate assessment of upper extremity capabilities for performance of functional activities. It has been used primarily with patients who have a residual hemiparetic upper extremity following a stroke. This seventeen task test is arranged in seven levels and can be administered in approximately thirty minutes. It is completely portable and can be used practically in many different treatment settings. The information obtained will allow therapists to set realistic functional goals and design effective programs for the patient's use of the involved upper extremity. The early research on this instrument implies that this test may be used as an alternative to some of the traditional objective and time consuming test measures that are currently used by occupational therapists.     

Estimation of proximate composition,micronutrients and phytochemical compounds in traditional vegetables from Andaman and Nicobar Islands

In present study, 10 preferred traditional vegetables from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, were analysed for nutritional profiles. Moisture content in their edible parts ranged from 83.43 to 94.78%. Maximum ash content was recorded in Portulaca oleracea, crude protein in Colocasia esculenta, crude fibre in Eryngium foetidum and fat in E. foetidum. Phosphorus was maximum in Ipomea aquatica, potassium in C. esculenta, zinc, calcium and manganese in Centella asiatica, copper in Sauropus androgynous, sodium and iron in P. oleracea, magnesium in Amaranthus viridi and cobalt in C. esculenta. Maximum polyphenol was recorded in Hibiscus sabdariffa, carotenoids in A. viridi, ascorbic acid in Saursops androgynus, anthocyanin in C. esculenta and chlorophyll in S. androgynus. Antioxidant activity was maximum in P. oleracea. Positive correlation was observed between polyphenol and tannin content and also between antioxidant activity and photochemicals. The developed nutritional profiles is being used in health and nutrition related schemes in Islands.     

Cellular- and micro-dosimetry of heterogeneously distributed tritium

Abstract

Purpose: The assessment of radiotoxicity for heterogeneously distributed tritium should be based on the subcellular dose and relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for cell nucleus. In the present work, geometry-dependent absorbed dose and RBE were calculated using Monte Carlo codes for tritium in the cell, cell surface, cytoplasm, or cell nucleus.

Materials and methods: Penelope (PENetration and Energy LOss of Positrins and Electrons) code was used to calculate the geometry-dependent absorbed dose, lineal energy, and electron fluence spectrum. RBE for the intestinal crypt regeneration was calculated using a lineal energy-dependent biological weighting function. RBE for the induction of DNA double strand breaks was estimated using a nucleotide-level map for clustered DNA lesions of the Monte Carlo damage simulation (MCDS) code.

Results: For a typical cell of 10 μm radius and 5 μm nuclear radius, tritium in the cell nucleus resulted in much higher RBE-weighted absorbed dose than tritium distributed uniformly. Conversely, tritium distributed on the cell surface led to trivial RBE-weighted absorbed dose due to irradiation geometry and great attenuation of beta particles in the cytoplasm. For tritium uniformly distributed in the cell, the RBE-weighted absorbed dose was larger compared to tritium uniformly distributed in the tissue.

Conclusions: Cellular- and micro-dosimetry models were developed for the assessment of heterogeneously distributed tritium.