Hoofdstuk in Frontiers in Gaming Simulation. Design thinking, design methodology and design science gain much attention in the domain of gaming and simulation and their theories offer parallels to knowledge exchange in youth care services. Design science research covers context independent engineering and constructionist creativity in pursuit of general values and is built on the synthesis of what already exits and of what might be. Design thinking and design methodology address questions that show similarities to youth care problem solving and future scenario development. The core business of youth care workers is to support positive change and to develop beneficial opportunities for child-rearing. Effective knowledge exchange in networks is the key to successful intervention and simulation gaming might help to study its processes and outcomes, however, we need appropriate validation tools and methods. The author argues that the design and analytical sciences complement each other in research of network exchange. Analytical approaches might develop and test theories about knowledge acquisition and transfer, while design approaches could enhance the exchange of situational, interactional, and interventional expertise. This proposition is explored in a multiple case study in which an analysis tool has been used to structure and study knowledge exchange in youth care networks through simulation gaming.
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The digital platform Youth Quarter is built by youth care organizations with the intention to facilitate youth care professionals to share knowledge. The adoption of Youth Quarter is investigated using the USE IT-adoption-model. Interviews with 27 youth care professionals demonstrated that the main problem they experience is high working pressure. Youth Quarter does not relieve the working pressure nor solves other relevant problems. Youth Quarter is regarded as having little relevance and not meeting users’ requirements, because of the little content and low number of users. Youth care professionals prefer to consult colleagues, and professionals they know. To increase the adoption, Youth Quarter should reward users by providing up-to-date relevant information and knowledge, and support efficient and effective working processes. Management should share clear goals for Youth Quarter and encourage the use of Youth Quarter, in order to increase the adoption.
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PurposeSexuality and relationships education (SRE) often do not accommodate the needs of vulnerable young people in child and youth social care, (school) social work, and residential or foster care, leaving professionals in these fields a vital role in delivering SRE to these young people. This scoping review examines what competencies professionals need to facilitate adequate guidance and education about sexuality and relationships in their work with vulnerable children and young people.MethodsWe conducted a systematic literature search in five databases – PsychINFO, Eric, Medline, CINAHL and Social Services Abstracts – for articles published between 1991 and 2021 on March 6, 2021, using a set of predefined search strings. Articles on sexuality and relationship education (SRE) or sexual health, related to competencies of (future) professionals and published in English were included.ResultsOur review revealed a range of competencies that professionals may need, such as providing basic prevention, dealing with children struggling with their sexual orientation, handling disclosure of sexual abuse or dealing with problematic sexualized behavior (often combinations of the above), but also supporting young people in exploring positive aspects of relationships and sexuality.ConclusionSRE is an integral part of the work of professionals in child and youth social care. Wider organizational and educational commitment is needed for implementation of SRE to facilitate a safe environment for diverse young people.
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In line with the ‘Natuur- en milieubeleidsplan Caribisch Nederland 2020-2030 (NMBP)’ the consortium intends with this research proposal to contribute to a prosperous society with a resilient population and healthy natural environment. The Caribbean Netherlands are dealing with a situation where imported vegetables and fruits are mostly imported and hardly affordable. This leads to consuming unhealthy food and high obesities rates as a consequence. A lack of good agricultural practices with regard to water-smart and nature inclusive agriculture, as well as limited coping capacities to deal with hazards and climate change, results in very limited local production and interest. Initiatives that focused only on agrotechnological solutions for food resilient futures turned out to be ineffective due to a lack of local ownership, which jeopardizes sustainability. Moreover, the ‘green’ and ‘blue’ domains are not seen as attractive career perspectives among youth, hampering a bright future for those domains. The aim of this research is to contribute to water-smart and nature inclusive food resilience embedded in a local participatory perspective in the Caribbean Netherlands. To address the above challenges, a living lab approach is adopted, where youth will be trained as (co)-facilitators (WP1) who will contribute to a participatory envisioning process and an articulation of food resilient futures (WP2). Finally, based on the envisioning process local stakeholders will select and implement experiments for food resilient futures followed by dissemination of results among key stakeholders as well as children and youth at the BES islands (WP3). This project strategy will lead to a network of a living lab where professionals and youth work together on food resilient futures. Training manuals and the results of experiments with regard to water and food system alternatives will be used actively to encourage youth to be involved in sustainable agriculture and consumption.
