A Qualitative Study of “fa’a’amu” Kinship Care Experiences in Tahiti

“Fa'a'amu” is a type of adoption commonly found in French Polynesia involving open, informal adoption arrangements, in which the child maintains ties to the family of origin. Although the function that child circulation plays in Oceanic societies has been widely documented by anthropologists, the implications of fa'a'amu at the individual level have yet to be examined. To address this gap, an exploratory qualitative study was conducted to 1) examine the lived experiences of adults who were fa'a'amu as children, and 2) identify experiences and characteristics associated with positive psychosocial and mental health outcomes in adulthood. The sample consisted of 22 Tahitian adults, who had been fa'a'amu during childhood. Applying a developmental and attachment lens, we explored how participants experienced relationships with birth and adoptive families, and how being fa'a'amu impacted their sense of well-being, attachment, identity, and belonging. Data was collected through The Adult Attachment Interview and the Fa'a'amu Experience Interview, which were coded using thematic analysis. Factors associated with positive outcomes in adulthood included early age at adoption, sensitive fa'a'amu parents, positive or benign relationships with birth parents, and respect between fa'a'amu and birth families. Factors associated with emotional distress included late age at adoption, abandonment and rejection, exploitative fa'a'amu parents, and conflict between birth and fa'a'amu families.     

Situated (un-)learning in software design: a deconstructive approach

Constructive technology assessment aims at anticipating societal impacts of technological innovations and suggests incorporating reflexivity and social learning into technology development. Social learning involves fostering the ability of diverse social actors to cultivate sociotechnical critical skills, thus allowing technological and social change to be governed with consideration for social values and diverging interests. Based on this demand, our paper presents a discourse-theoretical, interventionist approach to software design introducing deconstruction and (un-)learning as reflective practices to guide development processes. Inspired by Donna Haraway’s focus on power relations in technoscience culture, our approach—called ‘deconstructive design’—traces how structures such as in/formal hierarchies and discursive hegemonies affect the development processes and design decisions of teams or communities of practices. The underlying deconstructivist methodology refers to practice-based concepts of situated learning. Thus, it locates a potential for value-based intervention at the micro/meso-level of everyday work practices.     

Argumentation theory and GM foods

The European debate around genetically modified foods was one of the most sustained and ardent public discussions in the late 1990s. Concerns about risks to human health and the environment were voiced alongside claims that healthier foods can be produced more efficiently and in a more environmentally friendly manner using the new technology. The aims of this paper are (1) to test the usefulness of Stephen Toulmins argumentation model for the analysis of public debates almost 50 years after it was first introduced, and (2) to establish whether any of the parties in the genetically modified (GM) food debate used seriously flawed argumentation. The paper argues that Stephen Toulmins argumentation model can be useful in three ways when analysing public debates. Firstly, incomplete or flawed claims can be defeated by exposing missing or mismatching argumentation elements; all examined arguments in the GM debate were well formulated. Secondly, weaknesses in argumentation can be identified by making explicit warrants and backing; in the GM case, this allowed the identification of points of attack for counter-argumentation. Thirdly, analysing the type of backing used, allows inferences about the persuasion approach taken. The industrialists employed ethical principles as their backing much more than the scientists and environmentalists, a surprising result.

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The clubhouse model: An outcome study on attendance,work attainment and status,and hospitalization recidivism

The purpose of this outcome study is to assess the effectiveness of one clubhouse program model, Connections Clubhouse. The study was conducted on 117 randomly selected members attending Connections Clubhouse from January 1998 to June 1999. The study examines the effect of attendance rates on members' employment attainment and status, and on rate of hospitalization recidivism. Rate of hospitalization recidivism was conceptualized as the difference between number of hospitalizations after enrollment and before enrollment in the program. It is hypothesized that adult psychiatric patients, with a high rate of attendance at Connections Clubhouse, will demonstrate (a) a high rate of employment attainment and more advanced employment status; and (b) a low rate of hospitalization recidivism as compared to those with a low attendance rate. As hypothesized, the proportion of members with a high rate of attendance with no employment of any kind was significantly lower than the proportion of members with a low rate of attendance. Though less pronounced, the proportion of members with a high rate of attendance holding a more advanced employment status was significantly higher than the proportion of members with a low rate of attendance. As expected, the recidivism rate of members with a high rate of attendance was significantly lower than for members with a low rate of attendance.     

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS AND RATES OF FEMALE BREAST CANCER MORTALITY IN TEXAS

Relationships between median family income, female employment in agriculture and manufacturing, agricultural pesticide usage, and industrial carcinogenic wastes and rates of female breast cancer mortality were examined for 254 Texas counties. Data for most of the variables were averaged for the period 1980 to 1990. Levels of carcinogenic wastes reported by the Toxics Release Inventory were summed for the years 1988 to 1994. Female employment in agriculture and manufacturing, acres treated with agricultural pesticides, and volume of carcinogens were sources of potential environmental exposure. Mortality rates were based on the average number of deaths attributable to female breast cancer for the period 1986 to 1994 and the 1990 size of population subgroups in Texas. They were age and race adjusted and standardized per 100,000 population, using the direct method. Bivariate correlations were computed, and ordinary least squares regression was conducted. Findings indicated that rates of female breast cancer mortality were greatest in counties where larger numbers of women were employed in agriculture and manufacturing jobs and where volume of accumulated Toxic Release Inventory carcinogen wastes were greatest. Urban county status and median family income were important mitigators of mortality rates only in counties with no carcinogenic wastes. Pesticide use played a negligible role in the analysis.     

Cross-disciplinary Collaboration and Health Promotion in Schools

Abstract

School-based social workers, collaborating with teachers, can contribute to the development of the skills, knowledge, and attitudes required for individuals to live healthy lives both in the short and long term. This article reports on a case study that investigated the effectiveness of the input of social work into a school-based health promotion model. Results indicated that cross-disciplinary collaboration was dependent on a number of factors: commitment to the value of cross-disciplinary collaboration, the clear identification and articulation of the expert skills and knowledge that each discipline brings to the collaboration, and on the effective negotiation of the contribution of each discipline's expert skills and knowledge to the collaboration. When these factors are embedded in a school's formal and professional arrangements, then cross-disciplinary collaboration is more effective. This research provides theoretical and practical lessons for those embarking on cross-disciplinary collaborations in the school setting.