Black, Young & Conduct Disordered: Extrapolating Scott Henggeler’s Multisystemic Psychotherapy Paradigm for the Attenuation of At-Risk Behaviors of Black Youth in North America

Problem Statement: More than any other racial category, Black Youths have experienced severe racial disparities in contravention, trial and incarceration rates, the moment they come in contact with law enforcement agencies. There is a growing amount of literature suggesting that implicit racial biases do indeed exist in those who enforce the law, especially when such enforcers have limited time or and lacked cultural competencies to process their actions. These disparities are troubling, especially on account of the fact that although Black Youth comprise 16 percent of all children in America, yet they account for 28 percent of all juvenile arrests (National Council on Crime & Delinquency, 2007). It is not to imply that Black youths do not commit crimes. They do, just like all other ethnically diverse populations. However, there are research findings that Black youth pay a rather heavy premium for engaging in criminal or anti-social behaviors, mostly on account of their race, socioeconomic backgrounds, which are saturated by the stereotypical absence of a father or father figure, matriarchies, poverty and being mired in poor neighborhoods on one hand and on the other, a criminal justice system that disproportionately targets them. Approach: The paper applied an extrapolation of Scott Henggeler’s Multisystemic Psychotherapy paradigm to evaluate how its application can assist in stemming Black Youth lemming-like rush into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. It utilized secondary data analysis and literature on Black youth, juvenile, criminal justice and conduct disorders to evaluate this therapeutic approach in a Large Group Intervention-LGI setting. Result: Research indicate that the Multisystemic Therapy approach had previoulsy been applied at a micro level with satisfactory outcomes. In this case, I propose a treatment paradigm intended to be extrapolated [from Henggeler’s approach] to a Large Group Intervention-LGI and community setting, using all the parameters as Henggeler and team enunciated, but with slight adjustment and modifications to fit a Large Group Intervention target audience. Conclusion: The successful application of Hengeler’s Therapeutic Model within a Large Group Intervention setting significantly attenuated negative Black Youth interaction within the criminal justice systems in the USA, Canada and elsewhere. Additionally, successful application of this paradigm enhanced Black Youth pro-social skills for the development of the self, community and the nation states where Black Youths call home

“STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE?“ DECONSTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITIES AMONG 1.5 GENERATION AFRICAN IMMIGRANT YOUTH IN NORTH AMERICAN SOCIETIES: DILEMMAS AND CHALLENGES

The migration and resettlement of people into new societies have created a host of problems for immigrants in host societies. The migration and settlement experiences are more complicated and challenging for the immigrant youth who arrive in the new societies in their teenage years. This group, now referred to as the one-and-a-half generation group in the Diaspora, straddle various worlds: those of the old home they migrated from, and those of the new Diasporic settings, but not fully belonging to any. For these teenage youth growing up in Diasporic settings, the issue of identity becomes more paramount. How they come to define themselves, as well as how others define them, have important implications for their successful integration or the lack thereof in new societies. This study, undertaken with a number of youth from Africa, who have migrated, mostly with their families, into North America, unearthed some pertinent issues surrounding identity deconstruction and reconstruction in new societies for migrant youth

“STUCK IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE?“ DECONSTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION OF IDENTITIES AMONG 1.5 GENERATION AFRICAN IMMIGRANT YOUTH IN NORTH AMERICAN SOCIETIES: DILEMMAS AND CHALLENGES

The migration and resettlement of people into new societies have created a host of problems for immigrants in host societies. The migration and settlement experiences are more complicated and challenging for the immigrant youth who arrive in the new societies in their teenage years. This group, now referred to as the one-and-a-half generation group in the Diaspora, straddle various worlds: those of the old home they migrated from, and those of the new Diasporic settings, but not fully belonging to any. For these teenage youth growing up in Diasporic settings, the issue of identity becomes more paramount. How they come to define themselves, as well as how others define them, have important implications for their successful integration or the lack thereof in new societies. This study, undertaken with a number of youth from Africa, who have migrated, mostly with their families, into North America, unearthed some pertinent issues surrounding identity deconstruction and reconstruction in new societies for migrant youth

Mediating worlds: the role of nurses as ritual specialists in caring for the dead and dying

Rituals are central to the everyday life of the nurse, yet the fundamental roles that rituals play in caring for the dead and dying has often been neglected. This paper explores modern palliative and post-mortem care – its practices, practitioners and arenas – against the background of long-held, global concerns regarding the dead and dying. Comparison with the archaeological and ethnographic records demonstrates©the ubiquitous and enduring practices surrounding death, and the centrality of ritual specialists to this complex social and biological process. This deep-time perspective highlights the importance of nurses, and their associated nursing rituals, in the transition of patients between life and death, and the difficult journeys that nurse, patient and family undertake in this mediation between worlds. Such a perspective not only empowers nurses in their daily practices, and places nursing rituals firmly at the centre of modern palliative care work, but demonstrates the value of archaeology and ethnography in contextualising the challenges of today

Being Prepared and Staying Connected: Scouting’s Influence on Social Capital and Community Involvement

Objectives In recent years, scholars have become concerned about the effects that declining levels of social capital are having on community life in the United States. Data suggest that Americans are less likely to interact with neighbors and less likely to participate in community groups than they were in the past. Nevertheless, researchers have found that participation in some types of organizations has a positive impact on social capital and civic involvement. Each year, millions of American youth participate in programs designed to promote positive youth development. Here, we examine the effect that participation in one of the largest youth organizations, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), has on adult social capital and community involvement. Methods Utilizing a national survey of adult males, we compare measures of social capital and community involvement for former Scouts and non‐Scouts. Results Our findings suggest that level of involvement in the Boy Scouts is significantly related to measures of adult social capital and community engagement. Conclusion Scouting tends to have a significant impact on the lives of its most committed members. Future research must continue to explore the long‐term effects of participation in youth organizations

Structured Voluntary Youth Activities and Positive Outcomes in Adulthood: An Exploratory Study of Involvement in Scouting and Subjective Well-Being

This study explores whether youth involvement in Scouting has positive consequences later in life. We examine whether the number of years of participation in Scouting is positively associated with human and social capital and recreational lifestyles in adulthood, and whether these are linked to subjective well-being: relational, emotional, and physical health. To explore this potential relationship, we estimated a structural equation model, analyzing data from a national sample of adult males. We found that youth involvement in Scouting is positively related to subjective well-being indirectly via the positive adult outcomes

Three microtubule severing enzymes contribute to the “Pacman-flux” machinery that moves chromosomes

Chromosomes move toward mitotic spindle poles by a Pacman-flux mechanism linked to microtubule depolymerization: chromosomes actively depolymerize attached microtubule plus ends (Pacman) while being reeled in to spindle poles by the continual poleward flow of tubulin subunits driven by minus-end depolymerization (flux). We report that Pacman-flux in Drosophila melanogaster incorporates the activities of three different microtubule severing enzymes, Spastin, Fidgetin, and Katanin. Spastin and Fidgetin are utilized to stimulate microtubule minus-end depolymerization and flux. Both proteins concentrate at centrosomes, where they catalyze the turnover of γ-tubulin, consistent with the hypothesis that they exert their influence by releasing stabilizing γ-tubulin ring complexes from minus ends. In contrast, Katanin appears to function primarily on anaphase chromosomes, where it stimulates microtubule plus-end depolymerization and Pacman-based chromatid motility. Collectively, these findings reveal novel and significant roles for microtubule severing within the spindle and broaden our understanding of the molecular machinery used to move chromosomes