Student Anthropologist, a peer-reviewed journal of the National Association of Student Anthropologists, seeks scholarly submissions from undergraduate and graduate students worldwide, in particular those emphasizing anthropology’s capacity to shape public issues, social problems, and global realities. These submissions should contain original research. The two types of submissions accepted include: 1. Scholarly articles: under 6,000 words in length, subject to a peer review process. 2. Commentary submissions: opinion or theory pieces that are the original work of the author. Commentary submissions might include such mediums as written pieces (approx. 2,000 words in length), photo essays (10 photos + 1,000 words of commentary in length) and videos/YouTube© clips (10-minute maximum in duration + 1,000 words of commentary in length). The deadline is Monday, April 1st. For more information, click here.

Turkey denies reports of Syrian refugees’ deportation from Hurriyet Daily News Turkey has reportedly deported 600 Syrians staying at a refugee camp in the southeastern. Turkey ready to negotiate two-state solution for Cyprus: Turkish FM from Hurriyet Daily News Turkey is ready to negotiate a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem   188,387 Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey from Yahoo News Photos Turkey ‘s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced number of Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey were 188,387 as of March 12, and total amount of money spent so far was 728.3 million Turkish Lira (TL).   Turkey is world’s rising brand: Deputy prime minister from Hurriyet Daily News Turkey is a rising brand in the world because it has kept its promises, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said.   Turkey , Israel to work out compensation from Yahoo News Photos Turkey ‘s deputy prime minister says Turkish and Israeli officials will meet next week to work out the amount of compensation to be paid to the victims of a raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that killed eight Turks and a..   Palestine ‘against’ Turkish PM Erdoğan’s visit to Gaza: Official from Hurriyet Daily News Palestine is opposed to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s intention to visit the Gaza Strip.   Turkey gas move piles pressure on Cyprus from FT.com – World, Europe Ankara set to bar Eni from Turkey projects if it proceeds with Cyprus gas exploration, saying Greek Cypriots have no right to assign island’s resources   No Accreditation to Turkey’s Media in NSU Trial from Bianet :: English Munich’s Higher Regional Court declined to reserve any courtroom seats to Turkey’s media in the hearing of National Socialist Underground, a neo-Nazi cell suspected for the murder of 10 people including 8 with Turkish roots. The Syrian irony for Turkey from open Democracy News Analysis – by Annalena di Giovanni and Foti Benlisoy Before the uprising, Erdoğan and Davutoğlu tried to turn Damascus and Aleppo into safe market havens. Perhaps Turkey still expects eventually to have the lion’s share in a future reconstructed Syria, but the ruling AKP party may pay a high price for its regional policies. Israel, Turkey Explore Energy Links by Acturca The Wall Street Journal (USA) March 27, 2013, p. A12 By Joshua Mitnick, Tel Aviv Israel’s apology to Turkey over a deadly 2010 raid will boost cooperation over Syria’s civil war, but it also has a compelling economic incentive: the possible export of billions of dollars of Israeli natural gas to Turkey and beyond, say For Cyprus, a Sudden Need to Play Nice With Turkey from NYT > Turkey by By JAMES KANTER The country’s sudden reversal of fortunes implies that self-reliant Cyprus may need to brush up on its own relations with Turkey to make its gas wealth a reality.   Verheugen: Europe cannot do it without Turkey by Acturca EurActiv.com, 28 March 2013 Interview by Samuel Doveri Vesterbye The European Union needs Turkey if it is to succeed as a global player, former Commission vice-president Günter Verheugen tells EurActiv. Günter Verheugen is a former Commission vice-president and enlargement commissioner. He was a speaker at the Future of Europe Stakeholder Workshop organised by the EurActiv Making Sense of Turkish-EU Relations in the Aftermath of the Arab Spring by Acturca GTE Policy Briefs (Istituto Affari Internazionali) n. 8, 28 March 2013, 5 p. by Bülent Aras * Both the EU’s recognition of the importance of its value system and Turkey’s rediscovery of its European component in its foreign policy identity have occurred during a period of radical transformation in the Mediterranean region. The Arab Spring   How Obama Brought Turkey and Israel Back Together from Yahoo News Photos Gaza flotilla apology may have ramifications beyond Israel- Turkey relations from Yahoo News Photos By Alex Traiman/JNS.org Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reversed Israeli policy last Friday, offering an apology to the Turkish people for the deaths of nine Turkish citizens aboard the armed.   Uneasy détente in Turkish-Israel relations from Hurriyet Daily News Almost three years have passed since a raid by Israeli soldiers on the Mavi Marmara ship on May 31, 2010. Erdoğan doing everything to make Israel regret apology: Israeli far-right leader from Hurriyet Daily News The leader of Israel’s far-right Jewish Home party, Naftali Bennet, slammed Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s comments following Israel’s apology. U.S. expert: Genocide denial undermines Turkey ’s moral authority from Yahoo News Photos “Instead of trying to reinvent history, Turkey ‘s Prime Minister Erdoğan can make history,” David L. Phillips said. Will PKK Ceasefire Change Turkey ’s Regional Role? from Yahoo News Photos Copyright show:  No The March 21 ceasefire in the battle between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party and the Turkish state offers Turkey not only the hope of peace after decades of bloodshed, but poses profound implications for the region at large. read more Cyprus row axes Italy’s Eni from Turkish deals from Hurriyet Daily News Italian energy giant Eni feels the wrath of Ankara, as the company’s operations are suspended across Turkey…   S&P raises Turkey’s rating, hints amelioration if Kurdish issue solved from Hurriyet Daily News Standard & Poor’s upgraded Turkey’s credit rating from BB to BB+. Turkish FM reveals secret diplomacy behind Israel’s apology from Hurriyet Daily News Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu revealed March 28 the background of Israel’s apology to Turkey.   Cyprus’s economic woes could help resolve the island’s dispute | George Kyris from World news: Turkey | guardian.co.uk by George Kyris Greek Cypriots could now be forced round the table with their Turkish counterparts to discuss unification, thanks to the bailout Revise Customs Union, or cancel it totally : Turkey tells EU from Hurriyet Daily News Turkey has urged the European Union to restructure the terms of the current Customs Union.   Global economy’s axis shifts from West to East: Deputy PM from Hurriyet Daily News The world’s economic balance has shifted from the West to the East because of the latest economic crisis, says Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan at the Uludağ Economy Summit.   Turkey cautioned on PM’s visit to Gaza from Yahoo news ANKARA, Turkey , March 29 (UPI) — An expected visit to Gaza by Turkey ‘s prime minister should be planned to avoid further dividing rival Palestinian factions, a Palestinian diplomat said. What Is So Special About Russian–Turkish Economic Relations by Acturca Russian Analytical Digest (RAD), No.125, 25 March 2013, pages 5-10 Russia’s Relations with Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania By Natalia Ulchenko *, Moscow This article analyses contemporary Russian–Turkish economic relations. It considers the problems that the two sides are faced with, in spite of their steadily increasing bilateral trade volume and investment flows, and highlights the To Cash In on Gas, Cyprus May Need to Sell to Turkey by Acturca The New York Times (USA) March 28, 2013, p. B4 By James Kanter, Brussels With its economy in tatters, Cyprus urgently needs to tap its natural gas deposits. But opening the spigot will force the easternmost member of the European Union to make the tough choices it has long been loath to confront. Turkey and Israel Feel the Effect as Syria’s Civil War Fuels Tensions at Borders from NYT > Turkey by By SEBNEM ARSU and RICK GLADSTONE Turkey’s threat to prosecute or expel 130 refugees, and Israel’s growing concerns about injured Syrians coming across the border, are the latest signs of how Syria’s war has destabilized the region.   Editorial Board: Israel and Turkey let bygones be bygones from Yahoo news THE DARKENING situation in the Middle East has produced a silver lining. With Syria’s civil war intensifying and Iran showing no sign of slowing its nuclear program, Israel and Turkey have patched a nearly three-year-old rift. In a March 22 phone call stage-managed by President Obama , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the deaths Gaza residents would be happy to see Erdoğan: Gaza Mayor from Hurriyet Daily News Gaza Mayor Refik Mekki dismissed any opposition to Turkish PM’s planned Gaza visit. Palestine to ‘welcome’ Turkish PM Erdoğan to Gaza: Officials from Hurriyet Daily News Ankara has received no complaints relating to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s plans to visit Gaza, Turkish officials have said. In Bosnia, Turkey brings back a gentle version of the Ottoman Empire from Yahoo News Photos Turkey conquered the Balkans five centuries ago. Now Turkish power is making inroads through friendlier means. Two Turkish-run universities have opened in Bosnia’s Ottoman-influenced capital in recent years, bringing an influx of Turkish students and culture to a predominantly Muslim country still reeling from a brutal ethnic war almost two decades ago. Read full article Related posts: Erdoğan’s targets this week: Cyprus and Israel Interesting: Israel PM apologised to Turkey PM over flotilla deaths…. A FP roundup… Turkey vs. Israel today. Naval diplomacy. Another roundup Turkey vs. Israel. A fresh new round with Erdoğan’s statements on Zionism… A FP roundup… “Kaz gelen yerden tavuk esirgenmez” Roundup up for Making sense of Turkey and Israel rapproachment…

Some of the many things people added while signing the petition: www.gopetition.com/petitions/no-mining-the-karawari-caves.html image by Amy Toensig   It is time to demonstrate true environmental stewardship governed by environmental ethics. Protecting the terrestrial ecosystem of the Karawari Region and its extremely sensitivebiodiversity means ensuring that the environment will have a sustainable future. Gold exploration will lead to irreversible environmental destruction-for short term profits. Terrestrial ecosystems and the air and water services that they provide are worth more than bars of gold when it comes to the future of our forests- our life support.  Please protect these caves.Business should not win over culture, tradition and heritage.  We need to get the greatest number of people to sign this petition, if we want to save this universal Rock Art treasure and the Meakambut their legitimate owners and their territory. Please try and help us in this endeavour.  Please stop logging on our land where the ancestors lived.  Please do not allow mining in these Heritage standard caves  With the pristine forest PNG has such great opportunities for sustainable nature-based tourism, an industry that is itself sustainable, it is shocking to see the government continually push massive mining projects that permanently destroy the landscape, the water and marine environment. Tourism earns less per project, but for more people, at the grassroots and for longer.  This site should be protected in perpetuity from mining and/or development.  Please, please, please - please listen.There are more important things in life than gold & oil etc.Gone is gone - forever & ever, never to return again. Humanity has exploited, polluted & decimated so much - it is time to protect & preserve, cherish & treasure.  At what point does it become unacceptable to destroy beautiful places? I find myself disgusted with the greed that I see in the human population, the unwillingness to do the right thing instead of destroying nature for money to be made.  Please pay attention to the vast Cultural importance of these caves, and to the last cave dwellers of PNG who are still living there. This land is deserving of World Heritage status, pleasedon't ruin it forever.  Here we go again, large companies wanting to destroy something that is irreplaceable I hope they can be stopped.  Mining gold poisons the earth! Save our planet, keep it clean and green! Save the animals and planet!  I strongly oppose the application by Pristine #18 ELA 2008 to explore for gold in the Karawari region of the East Sepik Province. Particularly while there is a pending application for the areato be listed as a World Heritage site and not only that, the caves are home to the last nomadic cave dwellers of PNG and are totally against the application as well.  PNG has lost too many of its historic and cultural heritage to unscrupulous 'development' , and the Karawari caves are the latest to come under this threat.The Karawari site should not be mined!  Is nothing sacred anymore in this country? Selling sacred sites like this, shows how demoralised we have become as a nation. I hope we have leaders who still have moral values who can put astop to this insult.  I honestly don't know how anyone could ever think of possibly destroying such amazing history and beautiful rain forests. Think of the ecosystem and people it will affect!  Hon Peter O'Neill, CMG, MP,Please take care of your history, when every thing else is gone, it remains. Donot allow this to happen. If the Karawari region is under consideration for World Heritage listing then there is no place for any form of habitat destruction in the area. World Heritage listing of an area is a prestigious accolade for any country and should be sought after as a matter of pride by PNG not destroyed in the short-term pursuit of an inert metal. Cultural heritage is the most precious experience of mankind, the only experience that can pull it out of the global crisis.  totally against giving our heritage to these greedy so and so. This is not development, this is greed at its best  Stencilled caves are rare in New Guinea... and are not only of a great cultural importance to the State of Papua New Guinea, also for history of Humanity.  Our legacy is to preserve our history, will history show the rape of my motherland, or the foresight that what is done to our natural resources cannot be undone.  Miners and loggers have not made Papua New Guineans rich. Instead they have widened the gap between the rich and the poor. They have increased social problems. Their dusty roads in some areas are now impassable. The proof of their economic contribution may be seen in the urban areas of PNG particularly in Port Moresby and Lae, but sadly not by the rest of the estimated 85% people of this nation who live off their land, see, air and water for their daily sustenance in their rural areas. Live the sacred sites of the Karawari people intact for from it shall their spirits dwell and so shall they find they spiritual strength, wisdom and dignity.  Once they're gone there's no bringing them back. PNGs cultural heritage is worth more than someone else's buckets of gold. Stop the mining!  We the people of PNG don't need any more mining in our country Hon P. O'Neill and mining minister Hon Byron Chan. Can you two please cancell this exploration license and get Pristine outof our country thanks.  This is a heineous crime on society and archaeology. I feel ashamed to be an Australian when our 'leaders' enable these types of acts.  maybe by one's word cant make you change your mind on this decision to develop the place, but please think again. these herritage cant be bought with money in future. thank you  The aborigines reserve the right to stay their own way in the caves. Any attempts to change it must be stopped.Just think if you are one of them !  Please stop RH u made enuf money  Just leave.   I certify that the rock art of Karawari area is utmost importance, not only for the present life and the prehistory of New Guinea, but for the entire world. A unique opportunity is there to be able tohelp in understanding the rock art, which is the oldest form of artistic expression and religion of humanity. More : at a time of the global economy shows its limits and its madness, it is urgent to protect the last small spaces of freedom for nomadic peoples.Please let our brothers Meakambut live! Mining will not benefit the local people but will destroy the Karawari caves which are too important to the whole world.  Please do not rip PNG's gut out and sell it to the highest bidder! Because that is in reality what ishappening! There is enough exploration, mining, oil and gas, timber, plantations and etc..etc..are we going to remove everything from our mother land and live it barren?  Stop exploiting people's right and land. In solidarity, you can stand and say " NO " for thisproject. Thank you  When the trees are gone, the rivers dry up, and prehistoric art erased, you will realise that you can NOT eat money!  The Karawi Caves are an important cultural story that belongs not only to PNG, but to the world and our shared human history.  They had made enough money by raping our rain forests. They are already filthy rich now. They can invest in other industry but not in the forest sector. The environmental damage they aredoing to our environment is far greater than the benefits. The environmental destruction will be unforgiveable by the future generations. Let's put a stop to the raping of our rain forest and its ecosystem right now. Leaders, be in your right frame of mind to stop this cruel destruction of our natural beauty. You can go to other countries seeking for medical treatment if you are sick butwhen you die; your coffin will never leave the shores of this country to be buried in another country. Leaders! This is your country, your people and your rainforest. Always do what is right to preserve and protect this country from foreign greed and interests.  If ppl of that area dont welcome you, get the hell out intruder!  There must be some areas as reserved for our future generations, is mining going to feed all the people that will be directly affected? Come real Government give lasting developmentto sustain the livelihood of our people for many years to come.  The forest lives with the people and the people with the forest. No amount of money can and will never replace that bond. Leave the forest alone!  The RH Group of Companies has done a lot of damage to the Rainforest of PNG now they want to go into mining damn what sort of damage will they cause to the enviroment and to the People ofthat area they are mining in.  The area is of great value to the people of Karawari interms of economic, social and cultural value and the people there must give their free prior informed consent before any good andbad development happens on thier customary land  the RH Syndicate is reducing this country to 'non inheritance' left for the future generation. Those caves worth more than the fortunes of RH who can never ever in their lifetime replace thevalue those caves have for the generation to come.  Enough of RH raping virginity of our environment, especially rainforest in this country. They should be told to f... off. That includes all logging firms. FOR THEIR ENTRY INTO KARAWARI CAVE AREA IS A BIG NO BECAUSE THEIR MAIN GOAL IS NOT THE GOLD BUT THE TIMBER.  The money greedy PNG Government is uncaring of its incredible heritage and environment which requires protection  I support the petition's aims. Please do not damage the precious nature of Papua New Guinea for the benefit of a few tons of gold. The nature that is aimed to be damaged by mining is worthbillion times more and could not be restored when once damaged. Please do keep this part of Papua New Guinea untouched for the benefit of our descendants and precious wealth of nature's and cultural biodiversity.  I sincerely hope, that this time interests of local communities will be considered as more important then profits of big companies.  I hope deep from my heart that the government can appreciate the treasure in their old culture and help save the paintings.I have been a resident of PNG for 4 years in the 90th. Too bad i can not go there to some direct action.  There is more than enough environmental damage caused in PNG for reasons of greed and temporal prosperity at the cost of the people and the land. This is one of the last frontiers andsadly enough, because of senseless people in control, it is just becoming another Amazon clear cut and mined wasteleand.  I urge the government to feel proud of its cultural heritage and natural assets. As an Australian I apologise for our greedy way of life that often is the root cause to the destruction of indigenous cultures and landscapes. Know that not all western people are happy with this way of life and learn from our mistakes by maintaining your own incredibly unique identities and integrity rather than continually striving to live the same as everyone else.  Please do not allow senseless greed to destroy such a precious piece of world heritage!  Please pay urgent attention to this! The caves and more vitally, the people who live around them and are connected culturally to them are millenia-old treasures--world heritage.  RH has not proven to be sensitive to social and environmental areas where they have undertaken resource extraction projects. Please protect the site and not grant approval for the license.  As these caves are known internationally as an important cultural and artistic place, PNG's internatational reputation will be harmed by mining here.  Granting this license would be a crime against humanity.  What are you thinking? A peoples' history can not be redone! The value of their recordings is priceless!   I've personally been to those caves and have witnessed unique exotic art works in them. Such arts are rare and was installed by very skilled native artists.PLEASE STOP exploting thoseintergral part of our indigenous society.  Please do not issue any exploratory licenses to any extraction companies for the Karawari caves system area. Please respect these traditional landowners rights to say no to anythingthat disrupts their lands/  Based on Rimbunan Hijau's environmental record, they cannot be trusted to look after the interests of the customary landowners or the artwork in the Karawari Caves  Please preserve what little evidence of historical culture we have left for us and future generations.  Besides their archaeological value, the rock paintings in these caves are still part of the livingtraditions of the people in PNG. Please protect their right to continue with these traditions in their sacred landscapes.  The Earth needs the gold to remain in itself for balance! We've dug up enough! We've used enough toxic chemicals on the planet. Work on cleaning up the mess we've already made, instead of making one more mess!  Protect ancient rock art from obliteration by strategies that are concerned only with short term commercial gain.  It is important to preserve this ancient art. It is history, art, tradition, religion... Once it is gone, it can never be replaced again. Please protect the Karawari Caves area from economic exploitation that  will destroy this precious culture that belongs to our global history.  I am a rock art researcher who visited PNG in 1983, was impressed with the heritage and its importance in understanding pre-history of the Pacific. Area resources need to be preservedfor current residents and future generations, not surveyed for possible mining.  I mostly care about the people living there that's the reason why I signed this petition.  The mining industry leaces poison chemicals after they have raped the land. Their past history for cleanup is bad. Why should we think they will leave anything but distruction in theirpath? Land is life, the location contains invalueable sites which money cannot replace. I stand upon the Fourth National Goal and Directive Principles to protect our natural habitat fortomorrow's generation. I SAY NOT TO MINING IN THE KARAWARI AREA.  This is an important area. Within it lies important links to the history of PNG and its many people. It is also an important link in Global History, it must be preserved at all cost.To know where you came from is to know where you as a country are going. Do notallow greed to destroy your many peoples.  If the people do not want this development or the developer is not sensitive to the culture or history then the Government should think about the future generations. The resources willalways be there.  This kind of mining is very destructive I believe that it would be better to preserve the othe Treasures of the Karawari such as the caves and the surroundings that maybe soon will bringeven more revenue.  It is outrageous that Karawari people are facing the destruction if their lives and culture due to mining.  The Grasberg gold mine in West Papua is one of the most destructive mines in the world which actively pays the Indonesian military to kill West Papuan tribespeople.I would be completely horrified to see the same thing happen in PNG, a free nation. PNG should respect its own people, even the most humble. So call "development" can t be an excuse for everything. Let the local owner decide - with all informations needed - what they want to do  As a concerned citizen, a scientist and a researcher working with rural populations I support the cause of this petition.  I grew up in this beautiful land and even as a boy, I watched the rain forest being logged and taken away. Lets help stop anymore destruction of this beautiful land!!  Yumi mas lusim tingting long mani! No ken bagarapim papagraun na histori bilong ol Niugini. There are too many examples around the world of the consequences of losing unique habitats and evidence of our pre-history. Please don't let this be added to the tragic list.  We cannot keep destroying our magnificent Earth.... this money from cutting down pristine forests, mining untouched landscapes will stay with a few big ceo-s at the top of a greedy unfeeling pyramid in action all around the globe and is meaningless to all of us & our generations of children ,& grandchildren.! PLEASE LEAVE THE KALAWARI HOMELAND  ave ,art.&traditions..) ALONE !!!!!!!!!!!!  As a former missionary to PNG and friend of the Lutz family, who have worked with and worked on behalf of the Penale people for 19 years, I support this petition. Protect your land and yourpeople.  It is time to stop allowing corporate entities to consume precious lands for the sake of garnering obscene profits for themselves and their stockholders. It profits only the raiders and investors, drives people from lands that grant them a sustainable way of life, harms already endangered animal life, and offers no other thing of lasting value to the world.Put simply, this should not be allowed, and this sort of predatory behavior by multinational entities MUST STOP.  There are more important things in this world than gold. Go home and rebuild your own ecosystem before destroying someone else's home habitat.  Please respect and protect the self-determination of the people of the Karawari region. Respect their autonomy. Respect their land and their traditions.  Rimbunan Hijau thinks, it owns this country (PNG) and can go on to exploit whatever it pleases...Amazingly RH has a terrible reputition in PNG with regards to forest resource plunder, human rights violation, manipulation of the politics-policies and politicians through it political party - National Alliance or New Asian party. Surely it has diversified into number industries using in various names...Get rid of the devil, how long is it going to suck and parasite on this country and its citizen?It will be grave loss to the people of Kalavari and PNG if this heritage is to be destroyed and lost to build Tiong Hiew King's empire in Malaysia..  The caves with their art are a region of the most valuable heritage of the world. Please save them for the future.  Please leave this cave alone. We have enough goldmines in PNG. This site is our very own peoples heritage and has been around for thousands of years. Do not let outsiders destroy one of the few cultural sites we have left. The cave identifies us as Papua New Guineans, please dont let Pristine #18 destroy it. Its our home.  We all have the responsibility of conserving and both our natural and cultural heritage and ensuring that basic fundamental human rights are not violated by our greed and self iinterests  Please do not allow Pristine #18 to explore for gold without the free prior and informed consent of the Meakambut and the entire Penale tribe  It is insane for any country to jeopardize its own cultural treasures so that a few greedy individuals can make money.  This area should be protected because of its valuable cultural treasures and because it belongs to the Meakambut  Over the past since PNG gained its independence, our small green pristine country has undergone growing exploitation through mainly huge scale logging and mining activities. What have we achieved so far? Is our local customary landowners benefitting well from these developments? There is recently growing pressure for resource extraction for the last 5-10 years. We are one of the most rich country on earth but yet so poor in terms of developments. Has the existing mines alleviate poverty and unemployment in the country? We seem to have mines for most of the mineral resources but nothing has happened! Are there any other ways to sustainably develop and managed our natural phenomenon to bring the world to our shores? I personally believe we have the potential to bring the whole world to our shore to enjoy the extreme beauty of our diverse culture, diverse biodiversity, etc. Enough is enough, please look at other innovative ways to maintain our natural mysteries for our future generations. We have to be conservative rather thanbecoming a puppet for the international/multinational coorporations. Please you know the consequence of your decision so please honour the people you represent.  The area is by many Sepik groups considered as their place of origin since mythical times. Land means identity and digging into the earth would literally mean uprooting the people. Besides, many people living downstream depend on the rivers and lakes for food, transport and health. It would be a risky business to challenge their environmental issues which are the basis for their existence.  Save the people as it is and give the pace to the community to excercise their own choice to establish harmony among the Natural Resources and their relationships with the facilitativeeffort of Change Agent.  mining in PNG has seen very little tangible developments here in PNG let alone very little translating to prosperity amongst the majority of Papua New Guineans especially in ruralareas. the ripple effect of wealth generated from mining in PNG is limited. if pending World heritage status it should be left alone. our resources are being carved up by large corporations and before long there will be nothing left for future generation but dust and ash.  We have many existing mines from which revenues can be generated. To initiate a new mine is depleting all resources at one point in time and how about future generations?? Also concerned area is renown for archeaological site by the world. Les natin lo planti con man kam stealim ground na resources blo mipla.  Sorry No Need 4 more mines in  PNG..we must build on the ones that are already in place and development our country first..Although we have many mining in the country we never experienceschange. We are seen as Forever Developing Nation (FDN). We are still investing in primary stage of development without expending into secondary stage i.e. industry, laboratory, factories for production of goods and and investments for services that will support tertiary stage of  development. Its 36 years already but the government is still investing on primary stage of development and that is of basic infrastructure services all the time. These things suppose to bedone during colonial times or early independence. We are still talking about these primary stage of development problem because the government can not manage the big revenues from the already established mines. If the government can handle this I hope by now we should have moved into secondary and tertiary stage of development..therefore, No mining is to be done in my village Kerawari unless the government proof itself in managing the big LNG revenue, reduce coruption and bring these primary stage services to the rural people  Put a stop to mining exploration and any other mining activity in and around the Karawari Caves area by RH or any other company. List the said area as a World Heritage Area.  We have enough mines to sustain the economy of this country. Why more mines? Its uneven distribution of wealth and lack of vision and planning with poor or no service delivery at all inrural areas. Lack of commitment, mismanagement, corruption etc by the MPs we vote to  Parliament directly denies us our right to better medical care, electricity, better schools, better road networks, airfields etc .OK Tedi brought us environmental disaster, Panguna brought us civil war, dont we ever learn? Whats there for the people now? Absolutely Nothing! Mountains/Forestswith the natural habitats and beauty replaced by deserts, craters and wild thorns and Only Scars. How can RH be issued with a mining permit when they dont have a history in mining and also even if issuing of a mining permit to any company in that area would be utterly insane. Its the locals and and part of PNGs History which is PRICELESS. No amount of money can buy or replace historynor heritage.  I surely support the petition to stop this RH group of companies logging or mining in this area. Nowadays PNG is losing its traditional & cultural practices that keep people together. Such developments don't bring benefits to the poor local people. it only reap from them and destroy their live, leaving the people to suffer the years to come without any greater or long term benefits.It also destroy the beautiful natural environment that leaving bare land for our future generations...Please, do not grant the exploration licence to Pristine # 18 and preserve the Kawari area for future generation of that land to appreciate their heritage.We have distroyed our virgin environment in the name of development.Please conserve the Kawari area  Seriously! Do we need another mine in PNG at the expense of destroying what we have yet to learn about in this rich cultural heritage only recently discovered and not yet fully documented? RH can find another country to ply it's trade.  RH has bad track record in conducting its businesses in png and based on many reported allegations of corruption, environment degradation, abuse of human rights and absolutedisregard for customary landowners and the laws of the country.stop it from mining the area.  Lets all fight to STOP this MINING in KARAWARI CAVES.  I was Curator of Anthropology at the PNG National Museum 1980-83. One of my tasks was protection of National Cultural Property. Despite some of the best Cultural Property legislation inthe world (though in need of updating fines etc) cultural treasures have left the country illegally. Don't let these significant cultural sites be destroyed by resource extraction companies that already have a history of disregard for the environment. Protect local peoples' rights to decide how they want to live their lives and their lands to be used.  As decision makers you hold the fate of this precious ecological and cultural area in your hands. I draw your attention to the PNG Constitution. The wishes of the landowners must be respected.The biodiversity and the rainforests of Papua New Guinea are important not only for Papua New Guinea but for the earth at this time of unprecedented climate change. Your decision will affect not only PNG but the whole world. You can show global leadership in your approach to balancing economic needs with ecological needs.  Mining activities will destroy the environment. including the Cave Arts & the marine life in the waters of the Karawari & Arafundi river systems.PLEASE THERE SHOULD BE NO MINING IN THE AREA.  RH is NOT welcome in Momase Region, nor in PNG as a whole. They had done more than tolerable damage to PNG's forests, to PNG's biodiversity and to PNG's people and more. How much more damage can we and our government allow them to continue to do.Go Karawari, Meakambut and ALL Sepiks and ALL PNGeans! Stand up for what is right and never allow these human rights abusers, environment destroyers, land grabbers etc to come onto your/our territory.You have my fullest support, that of the Madang Peoples Forum and my Gildipasi people from the north coast of Madang.Stap wantaim yupela!  The World should not sell its future or any part of our global culture and heritage (whether in Papua New Guinea or elsewhere) that will sustain it for succeeding generations, and certainlynot for nothing more than the short term and illusory benefits mining might bring. It will not be long before the profits are extracted and banked in corporate accounts far from Papua New Guinea and its people leaving your country and the world a poorer place.  Please protect the national cultural property of the Meakambut people of PNG and do not allow commercial interests to exploit it or harm them.  Mining is environmentaly damaging generally and to mine in wilderness areas and other special areas is indefensible. Papua is a unique environment with effects on species migration and continent development. There are subtle and profound consequences for the planet when PNG is mishandled. Stop mining.  To mine these caves would be equivalent to desecrating a cathedral. Please do not let your monetary desires interfere with your moral codes .  This is the nation's story house, history and legacy for the future generation and we cannot allow some foreigners digging for gold and minerals to spoils the 300 plus caves and the forest and the culture of the people, if they are against mining then let them be.  RH has cut enough of our Native forest. Now they are building a Large Hotel at Vision City that is worth hundreds of millions of Kina. I think they have made enough out of our country plundering our forest and robbing the locals LO.  As has become apparent, there is more to life than hotels, minerals, things. There is, in fact, life.And ecosystem services (see TEEB, MEA, ..., IPCC).I urge you to reconsider keeping some of the pristine habitat and indigenous peoples on this planet.

Got my Nexus 7 a while ago,  but I wasn’t finding a use case for it. Thanks to a friend advising me to give Swiftkey a try,  I might actually make it work. Something I might find especially useful about Swiftkey is the fact that I can mix languages,  quelque-chose que je fais assez souvent sur iOS mais qui demande un changement constant de clavier. Since I like Android’s speech recognition,  a combination of SwiftKey and speech might allow me to work efficiently. Un truc que je remarque rapidement,  par contre,  c’est que le fait de passer d’un système à l’autre demande un certain temps de transfert de mots de passe. J’utilise des outils pour conserver des mots de passe sécuritaires,  et ils existent sur plusieurs plates-formes,  mais ça demande quand même un certain temps. We’ll see how things go,  after a while. I do want to like Android’s and,  contrary to popular belief, I can be pretty open minded about such things. But I need appropriate contexts to try out different use cases. Otherwise,  having people yell at me because I’m yet to be sold on Android hasn’t been helpful. Ok,  the test is enough for now. Having issues with the Swiftkey spacebar in landscape,  but I’m sure I’ll get used to it. Let’s post this and edit later.

There are many different ways to do comps*, but in the School of Anthropology at the University of Arizona students have 3 weeks to write 50 double-spaced pages in response to questions asked by the members of their committees.** My three weeks started about 15 minutes ago. Following my advisor’s advice, I am spending my … Continue reading →

The village of Akazu’yw lies in the rainforest, a day’s drive from the state capital of Belém, deep in the Brazilian Amazon. Last week I traveled there, carrying a dozen Android phones with a specialized app for recording speech. It wasn't all plain sailing… Read the full story here.

I couldn't have said it any better myself. The South China Morning Post (SCMP) got on the interbreeding bandwagon today. Well, really, they were just announcing the article by Wu, Xing and Trinkaus about the palaeo-occurrence of what's called a discrete trait in osteological circles---that of an enlarged parietal foramen. It's a genetic defect affecting ossification of the braincase near where the two parietal bones articulate with the occipital. I've already said enough on the actual article. But I couldn't resist having another kick at the cat using the idiomatically unfortunate translation of the defect's name that the SCMP gave to the disease.As for the PLOS ONE article itself, the argument is threadbare. Honest. Go back and see what I said. These guys should know better!Wu X-J, Xing S, Trinkaus E (2013) "An Enlarged Parietal Foramen in the Late Archaic Xujiayao 11 Neurocranium from Northern China, and Rare Anomalies among Pleistocene Homo." PLoS ONE 8(3): e59587. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059587Actually, the more I write about stuff like this, the more I think that I must have a form of hole-in-the-head disease, too.SA announces new posts on the Subversive Archaeologist's facebook page (mirrored on Rob Gargett's news feed), on Robert H. Gargett's Academia.edu page, Rob Gargett's twitter account, and his Google+ page. A few of you have already signed up to receive email when I post. Others have subscribed to the blog's RSS feeds. You can also become a 'member' of the blog through Google Friend Connect. Thank you for your continued patronage. You're the reason I do this.

Peeping through a Keyhole, Down upon My Knees We are virtually here to discuss with you something that I would call InTRADOCtrination: Intelligent Design for Retraining the Masses The Mission?: We suggest that it is The Locking-In: The Prison-Industrial Complex, well-documented and contextualized by Angela Davis. In fact, she traces my essay’s central themes. You Say You Want [...]

Full details download here: folder-brazil. 10am- 6pm. VENUE Council Room Laurie Grove Baths Laurie Grove, Goldsmiths London SE14 6NW Centre for Cultural Studies | Goldsmiths University of London London SE14 6NW ORGANIZERS Rosana Martins is a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Cultural Studies, at Goldsmiths University, London. Holly Eva Ryan is a fourth year [...]

The New Intelligent Design of Human Society and Anthropology Nobody in the USA or in the UN has proposed a bill – that I am aware of – for The People to vote on the fundamental topics of our era. We need to discuss such notions as whether we want to be competitive troops in a global, [...]

Turkey suspends energy deals with ENI over Cyprus row from Yahoo news Turkey has suspended energy projects with Italian giant ENI because it is involved in disputed exploration for oil and gas off Cyprus, the Turkish energy minister said Wednesday. “We have decided   Turkey and Greek Cyprus should take the first step together: Greek Cypriot PM from Hurriyet Daily News The Greek Cypriot foreign minister called on Turkey to take a joint first step. Obama Shows Talent for Arm-Twisting, and Raises Hopes on Peace Effort from NYT > Turkey by By MARK LANDLER After helping heal a rift between Israel and Turkey, analysts wonder whether President Obama will bring the same doggedness and personal involvement to pursuing peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Israel, Turkey to start raid compensation talks on April 12 from Yahoo News Photos Turkish and Israeli officials will meet on April 12 for breakthrough talks over compensation for a deadly 2010 flotilla raid, for which the Jewish state apologised last week, the Turkish prime minister said Friday. Turkey wants new Cyprus solution bid from Hurriyet Daily News On the day that Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu made a statement about the possibility.. Mending Israel-Turkey ties from Hurriyet Daily News I was in Israel last week, right after Israel’s apology for any wrongdoing..   Israel- Turkey thaw: Strategic prospects from Yahoo News Photos BEIRUT, Lebanon, March 26 (UPI) — The rapprochement between Israel and Turkey is expected to have a significant strategic effect on the turbulent region. Related posts: Turkey FP roundup. Turkey bites tongue over Greek border wall plan, angry with Merkel over Cyprus… Like in the old days, Turkey makes moves towards the EU, crisis over Cyprus, tension with ME neigbours.. A FP roundup Now comes the drilling politics… Turkey vs. Cyprus Erdoğan’s targets this week: Cyprus and Israel “188,387 Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey… A FP roundup…

On 15 January, the Peking consultancy Anbound released a report that argues that a Chinese “Marshall Plan” for Africa would not only solve China’s problems of an industrial transition (by offshoring labour-intensive low-tech industries and by creating markets for outdated products) but also slow the yuan’s inflation by creating a pool of the currency in [...]

Cemil Çiçek’ten yeni anayasa açıklaması HABERTURK Çiçek, yeni Anayasa çalışmaları konusunda, “Burada çok fazla zaman söz konusu değil. Bu işi en öncelikli iş kabul etmemiz gerekli. Lozan Anlaşması gibi bir Anlaşmayı 6 ayda yaptık. Anayasayı daha fazla uzatamayız. Bir an evvel belli bir noktaya   Türk ifadesi anayasadan çıkmasın! Vatan … Şalk gibi isimlerin bulunduğu 300′dan fazla bilim, devlet, siyaset ve edebiyat adamı bugün kamuoyuna bir çağrıda bulundu. “Türk Milletine Çağrı” bildirisinde ‘Türk ifadesi Anayasa’dan çıkmasın’ denildi.Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kafalı, Prof. Dr. Bican   Yeni anayasa olmazsa 2014′te sıkıntılar doğar Star Gazete TBMM Başkanı Cemil Çiçek, yeni anayasanın hazırlanmaması durumunda, 2014′ten sonra Türkiye’de, ‘yetki karmaşası’ yaşanacağı uyarısında bulundu. Parlamento muhabirleriyle buluşan Çiçek, “2014′ten itibaren cumhurbaşkanını halk seçecek; icranın   Milli Anayasa Forumu, Pazar Günü Ödemiş’te Toplanıyor Haber 3 Türkiye genelinde 80′e yakın il ve ilçede yüzlerce kez toplanan Milli Anayasa Forumu, pazar günü Ödemiş’te de bir toplantı gerçekleştirecek. “Atatürk’te birleştik” sloganıyla yola çıkan ve daha önce Selçuk ve Tire’de de toplantılar gerçekleştiren Milli   ”Anayasa taslağında grev yapma hakkı da bulunacak” Yirmidort Haber Dünya Sosyal Forumu kapsamında ”Tunus Anayasa Taslağında Ekonomik, Sosyal ve Kültürel Hakların Konumu” adı altında düzenlenen sempozyuma da katılan Cafer, bu hakların Tunus vatandaşı için önemine vurgu yaptı. Genel grevlerde sendikal haklar   Yeni Anayasa’da Türk tanımı tartışılıyor Haber Aktuel Yeni anayasa çalışmalarının en kritik maddesini ‘Türk milleti’nin tanımı oluşturuyor. Milletvekilleri, bu konuda arşiv taraması yaparken 21 Haziran 1934 tarihli İskan Kanunu tartışmaların odağında. Kanun, hükümete Türk Kültürüne bağlı olmayanları sınır   Akyalçın; “Bu anayasa bölünme anayasasıdır” Çanakkale Olay Dün güzel ülkemizden bir ses yükseldi, bu sesin sahipleri dediler ki: ‘Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Devleti’nin kurucusu ve sahibi olan Türk Milleti’nin adı, vatandaşlık tarifinden ve Anayasa’dan çıkarılamaz. Devletimizin eşit ve şerefli üyeleri olan aziz   Anayasa” uyarısı: “Süre pazar günü doluyor” CNN Türk AK Parti Grup Başkanvekili Mustafa Elitaş, yeni anayasa çalışmalarıyla ilgili verilen sürenin 31 Mart Pazar günü dolacağını belirterek, “Sonraki süreçte eğer onlar samimi şekilde, iyi niyetle, çok kısa bir zamanda bitirecekleri şeklinde bir beyan   Yeni Anayasa’da 5 Nisan telaşı Internet Haber Yeni anayasanın ”yargı” bölümünün görüşmelerini sürdüren Komisyon, daha sonra yürütme bölümünde kalan maddeleri ele alacak. Gruplar, varsa Anayasa’nın başlangıç kısmı, ile birinci kısımdaki genel esaslar ve diğer bölümlere ilişkin önerilerini 5 Nisan   Anayasa Uzlaşma Komisyonu’nda, monarşi, padişahlık, demokrasi tartışması T24 (Basın Bildirisi) TBMM Anayasa Uzlaşma Komisyonu’nda son iki haftadır önemli bölümünde anlaşma sağlanamadığı için kırmızı renkte yazılan Anayasa Mahkemesi bölümünde tartışma yaşandı. AKP’li Ahmet İyimaya, “Anayasa Mahkemesi özünde millet iradesine terstir”   Osman Can, Omü’de ‘Anayasa’ Konferansı Verdi Haberler Omü Düşünce ve Atılım Topluluğu tarafından düzenlenen, “Yeni Anayasa, Demokratik Hukuk Devleti” konulu konferans, İlahiyat Fakültesi Konferans Salonunda gerçekleşti. Konferansa konuşmacı olarak Anayasa Mahkemesi Eski Raportörü Doç. Dr. Osman   Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Hatemi Tarafından “yeni Anayasa” Adlı Konferans Verildi Haber 3 İyi bir anayasa yapılması için ilk yapılacak şeyin her şeyden önce Anayasanın başlangıç bölümünün iyi düzenlenmesi gerektiğini söyleyen Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Hatemi, “Hukukun temel ilkesi, temel kavramı Hak’tır. Hak’ta hukuken korunan, menfaattir.   Anayasa prof’u Özbudun: Genel affa hazır olun Ensonhaber İstanbul Şehir Üniversitesi öğretim üyesi, Anayasa Profesörü Ergun Özbudun, çözüm sürecindeki tartışmalarla ilgili Vatan’dan Deniz Güçer’in sorularını yanıtladı. Adı ‘Akil İnsanlar’ listesinde geçen Prof. Özbudun “Genel af bir noktada gündeme girecek   Erdoğan ’31 Mart son’ dedi ama… Vatan Erdoğan daha önce birkaç kez açıkladığı yeni anayasa projesine ilişkin A, B ve C planlarını da tekrarladı. İlk olarak CHP’nin kapısını çalacaklarını, MHP’nin ise baştan reddeder bir tavır sergilediğini belirten Erdoğan, bu iki partiyle bir sonuç   Yeni Anayasa’yı hukukçulara yaptırmayın! Haber 10 Samsun Aydınlar Ocağı’nın İl Müftülüğü konferans salonunda düzenlediği “Değişen Türkiye veAnayasa Tartışmaları” konulu konferansa konuşmacı olarak katılan AK Parti MKYK Üyesi veAnayasa Mahkemesi Eski Raportörü Doç. Dr. Osman Can, yeni   BAHÇELİ: PKK, AKP’YE ANAYASA SİPARİŞİ DHA (abonelik) Emre BAYLAN/ANTALYA, (DHA) – MHP Genel Başkanı Devlet Bahçeli Antalya’da parti toplantısında yaptığı konuşmada, “Ne gaflettir ki, PKK, AKP’ye anayasa siparişi vermiştir. PKK, Türk milletinin yeniden tanımlanması, milli kimliğin yeniden belirlenmesi, Related posts: Yeni Anayasa Gündemi… Erdoğan Mart’a kadar süre verdi… Yeni Anayasa gündemi… Kılıçdaroğlu’nun ‘yeni anayasa’ tarifi…Erdoğan’ın anayasa için B ve C planı Yeni Anayasa Gündemi: İsmet Berkan: Yeni anayasa çıkmaza mı giriyor? Yeni Anayasa Gündemi: “Muay Thai’ Federasyonu Yeni Anayasa Ve Başkanlık Sürecine Destek verdi… Yeni Anayasa Gündemi.. Kuzu ilan etti: Seçim sürecinde yeni anayasa çıkmaz… Öcalan’dan Habermas referanslı anayasa tartışması…

After more than a decade of studying ubiquitous computing I’ve seen some interesting things come and go. (To put this in perspective for my students I tell them that my PhD was done before the first iPhone was released.) But it’s the persistent things that I end up thinking about most, the cultural values and social norms around ubicomp that we never seem to lose despite everything that changes. I was thinking about some of those things last week when a colleague asked me to give a guest lecture in his undergrad ubiquitous computing media design course, and so I found myself putting together a few slides under the title 5 Things About Ubiquitous Computing That Make Me Nervous. This was my list: 1. Technological determinism & defeatism Or, the cultural belief that technological development and progress is inevitable, and we have to adapt. 2. Technological solutionism Or, the cultural belief that technology is the best solution to life’s problems. 3. Quantification imperatives Or, the cultural belief that everything can and should be measured, and that everyday life would be better if all our decisions were based on these data. 4. Connection & sharing imperatives Or, the cultural belief that everyday life would be better if more information was transmissible and accessible to people. 5. Convenience & efficiency imperatives Or, the cultural belief that people would be better off if there were more technologies to make daily life more convenient, and common tasks more efficient. I explained that the five points are not mutually exclusive, but that we can look at them individually to get a better sense of how they overlap and reinforce each other. Technological defeatism and solutionism are Evgeny Morozov’s terms, and because our students are surrounded by digital utopianism and not often keen on reading academic texts, I suggested that they check out his interesting and readable new book: To Save Everything, Click Here. I explained that I found the first two beliefs most problematic because they are so far reaching and have been responsible for some of history’s greatest atrocities, but that the following three points are most problematic in their capacity as imperatives. In other words, I have no problem imagining situations or contexts where they could be appropriate but I’m nervous because designers too often take their necessity for granted–and fail to ask questions about when, where and for whom such designs might be inappropriate, or make the effort to understand why. Like many students facing a critique of their practice, they struggled to understand how they could proceed. Some still focussed on how to provide the right solutions to the right problems (I asked who should get to decide what is right); others wanted to know how they could predict the likelihood of something bad happening (I pointed back to #3); and a few wanted ethical guidelines (I wondered if this fell under #2, or if I needed to add a #6, Prescriptive imperatives). Taking a more pedagogical perspective, a couple of students recognised that it is difficult to develop a critical perspective whilst in school that includes the possibility of not designing something, simply because we force them to make things. A few students even accused me of being defeatist and anti-technology in my critique, but I responded that I never said that ubicomp shouldn’t be designed, and neither did I say that we couldn’t create technologies in more critical, or interrogative ways. A serious problem, I think, is that our imaginations are not as strong when we come to the task of redesigning design itself. Design still suffers, for example, from having contradictory interests in sustainability and planned obsolescence, and still responds to the perils of mass production through the design of small-run luxury goods. In these, and other cases, one problem is simply substituted for another–and the solutionist imperative encourages us to respond by designing and producing more and more in turn. In my class this term we’re using Anne Balsamo’s Designing Culture as a starting point for identifying when, where and how designers make decisions. For all our focus on teaching students to design digital and physical products, I don’t think we’re doing a good enough job of getting them to understand their process as a form of social, cultural, political, ethical, etc. agency. There is still, I think, too much emphasis on design process as some sort of mythical, mystical, essentially ineffable, act of creation. This problem, I think, is further compounded in more critical approaches, where design effectively begins and ends with the creative act. In other words, whether questioning ubicomp or biotech or something else entirely, the objects and ostensibly critical intentions of the designer are treated as givens and little effort has been made to systematically understand how other people interact–or do not interact–with these designs. Imagine discussions about video games that did not include player perspectives, or mass media research that did not take into account the active use of, rather than passive consumption of, information and entertainment. And yet critical design, speculative design, and design fiction are rarely researched by non-designers–see DiSalvo and Michael for notable exceptions–and almost never analysed or evaluated by their actual practitioners. (I’ll never forget being told by a designer that we can’t critique critical design because it had already been done through the design itself!) By articulating “things that make me nervous” instead of talking about “things that are bad,” I had hoped to help students realise that critique is also not a final act. I wanted them to keep moving, to keep acting–but with greater awareness, responsibility and accountability. Critique shouldn’t stop us from acting or, in my opinion, tell us how to act. Critical awareness should help us situate ourselves, make active decisions to do some things and not others, and accept the consequences of these actions for ourselves and others.

I'm really happy to fulfill the promise I made to you the other day, when I installed the image of the pacifier in the side bar. In its place is a ... yep ... a portal to my latest and greatest brainchild. I've opened a kewl online store to hawk exclusive merchandise inscribed with the immortal words, "A drink is like a hug." It just rolls off the tongue. Doesn't it? It's long been my motto. I've never needed another.If everything is working according to plan, you can click on the image above and be transported effortlessly to my newest lair and have a look around. You're under no obligation to buy, nor will I mention it again in this blog. The overtly shameless bit of self-promotion at top right is all that'll remain of my involvement with today's announcement. [By week's end, I'm betting even POTUS Obama will be wearing something with my heartfelt motto emblazoned on it. Maybe not. A girl can dream. Can't she?]When you've recovered from your laughing fit, I'd just like to remind you that my [how should I put this?] archaeological critical acuity is in no way imperiled by my efforts elsewhere online. But I should warn you, you won't want to be the last to pick up your piece of the latest apogee of popular culture!I don't wanna haveta say "I told you so!" FYI:"A drink is like a hug" is a not-quite-finished-being-registered trademark of the Subversive Archaeologist.SA announces new posts on the Subversive Archaeologist's facebook page (mirrored on Rob Gargett's news feed), on Robert H. Gargett's Academia.edu page, Rob Gargett's twitter account, and his Google+ page. A few of you have already signed up to receive email when I post. Others have subscribed to the blog's RSS feeds. You can also become a 'member' of the blog through Google Friend Connect. Thank you for your continued patronage. You're the reason I do this.

It has been a while since I've posted a link roundup. This is mostly for technical reasons (the feed stopped working) and also because I've been busy. Now that it's all working, I'll clear the backlog and then try to make these more regular again. Today's links include various perspectives and reflections on anthropology with some humor, technology, news and urban art mixed in.Why has anthropology shifted from discovery and explanation to moralism and advocacy? Posted: 23 Feb 2013 09:45 PM PSTPhilip Salzman via the OAC: "What happened in anthropology during the second half of the 20th century was the increasing politicization of anthropology. Political influence became not just an influencing factor, but the raison d'etre of anthropologists. One index of this was the formation of political identity groups within the American Anthropological Association. Currently there are formal Sections devoted to political advocacy: The Association for Feminist Anthropology; The Association for Indigenous Anthropologists; The Association of Black Anthropologists; The Association of Latina and Latino Anthropologists ... Who ever thought that anthropologists would segregate themselves by race? By ethnicity? By ideology? By personal preferences? But it is not just self-segregation; rather, anthropology has become a tool for lobbying for benefits of particular groups. The goal of anthropology becomes advancing certain political objectives: gender specific, racially specific, ethnically specific, preference specific."Anthropology, Inc. Posted: 23 Feb 2013 01:42 PM PST"The corporate anthropology that ReD and a few others are pioneering is the most intense form of market research yet devised, a set of techniques that make surveys and dinnertime robo-calls ("This will take only 10 minutes of your time") seem superficial by comparison. ReD is one of just a handful of consultancies that treat everyday life—and everyday consumerism—as a subject worthy of the scrutiny normally reserved for academic social science. In many cases, the consultants in question have trained at the graduate level in anthropology but have forsaken academia—and some of its ethical strictures—for work that frees them to do field research more or less full-time, with huge budgets and agendas driven by corporate masters."Q&A: The Anthropology of Searching for Aliens Posted: 06 Apr 2012 09:43 AM PDTYes, aliens: "Before we can understand an alien civilization, it might be useful to understand our own. To help in this task, anthropologist Kathryn Denning of York University in Toronto, Canada studies the very human way that scientists, engineers and members of the public think about space exploration and the search for alien life."AnthroFail Posted: 12 Apr 2012 08:54 AM PDTFunny Tumblr: "Anthropology: You're doing it wrong".Oxford Bibliographies Posted: 21 Mar 2013 12:44 PM PDTMultisubject resources, including Anthropology: "Developed cooperatively with scholars and librarians worldwide, Oxford Bibliographies offers exclusive, authoritative research guides. Combining the best features of an annotated bibliography and a high-level encyclopedia, this cutting-edge resource guides researchers to the best available scholarship across a wide variety of subjects." Uranium City is small-town Canada taken to the extreme Posted: 23 Mar 2012 01:59 PM PDTVanishing city: "Northern Saskatchewan's Uranium City may be a life too isolated for the likes of most city dwellers, but as photographer Ian Brewster and anthropologist Justin Armstrong discovered on their trip to the ghost town, the city's sense of community has kept its remaining 70 inhabitants going strong. "I have this idea of writing a place into existence," says the 35-year-old Armstrong, a professor at Wellesley College outside of Boston. He wrote his dissertation on vanishing cities across Canada and the United States, and wanted to continue his work with the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation through Uranium City. "So how do you take it from being just a sad, abandoned place to having a really rich narrative and history that might otherwise have been evacuated?""In Italy, Illusion Is the Only Reality Posted: 23 Feb 2013 01:50 PM PST"It is the constant impression of people outside Italy that Mr. Berlusconi is some kind of evil buffoon and that the vast majority of Italians repudiate him. They cannot understand how a man so constantly on trial for all kinds of corruption, a man with a huge conflict of interest (he owns three national TV channels and large chunks of the country's publishing industry), remains at the center of power. The answer, aside from the extraordinarily slow and complex judiciary and a distressing lack of truly independent journalism, is that Mr. Berlusconi's political instincts mesh perfectly with the collective determination not to face the truth, which again combines with deep fear that a more serious leader might ask too much of them. One of the things he has promised is a pardon for tax evaders. Only in a country where tax evasion is endemic can one appeal to evaders at the expense of those who actually pay taxes."Mayor Bloomberg’s Geek Squad Posted: 24 Mar 2013 08:50 AM PDTBig data is actually useful for something? "Now the city has brought this quantitative method to the exceedingly complicated machine that is New York. For the modest sum of $1 million, and at a moment when decreasing budgets have required increased efficiency, the in-house geek squad has over the last three years leveraged the power of computers to double the city's hit rate in finding stores selling bootleg cigarettes; sped the removal of trees destroyed by Hurricane Sandy; and helped steer overburdened housing inspectors — working with more than 20,000 options — directly to lawbreaking buildings where catastrophic fires were likeliest to occur." Jeremy Mayer:Typewriter Assemblage Posted: 10 Aug 2011 10:55 AM PDTThis guy makes people out of re-assembled typewriter parts. How New York Pay Phones Became Guerrilla Libraries Posted: 10 Apr 2012 12:48 PM PDTStreet art: "John Locke thinks people should read more. So in the past few months, the Columbia architecture grad has slipped around Manhattan with a sack of books and custom-made shelves, converting old pay phones into pop-up libraries.

The best thing here at OAC is that anyone can write a blog post or a comment or a discussion topic about anything as long as there's a discernible anthropology in it.  Other anthropology sites are too academic and formal; thus the posts and the comments seemed restrained, awfully familiar, and vanilla--that's not out of the box.  It makes me wonder if anthropologists in those sites are really sharing their best or if they are being careful not to sound unprofessional or come out unacademic. The tone of their discussions and the depth of their arguments are no different to what one experiences in a graduate seminar run by a boring professor.  I don't see passion, intensity, raw ideas, fresh thinking in their pages.  If these forums were films, I would consider OAC an alternative or indie film.  I hope Keith will continue running this site with such spirit. I'm not being dismissive of other sites without basis.  Last night I could not sleep and continue working on my latest project: a clay sculpture of a distorted face, an ashtray. So, I read the old posts I missed during my long hiatus from OAC.  One blogger consumed most of my time.  I went to bed full of thoughts, one of which was my newfound appreciation for OAC. If decades from now (and I'll still be alive) future anthropologists (if there will be) will apply mathematics in anthropology the way most do now with French theories, I'll be able to say: "A guy named Michael Alexeevich Popov bombarded us with mathematical and computational anthropology at OAC before you were born."   Although I seldom see a comment under his posts, I appreciate his intensity and passion towards his difficult subject.  His post under discussion, P vs NP Problem, made me browse Wikipedia all night and write this blog post.  P vs NP asks "whether every problem whose solution can be quickly verified by a computer can also be quickly solved by a computer."  "Quickly" means "the existence of an algorithm for the task that runs in polynomial time."  Can we apply the concepts in this problem in our analyses of how long it will take us to know the death or failure of a culture or a community and how long it will take us to save it?  It's interesting how "polynomial time" is qualitatively understood in Cobham's thesis.  It is synonymous to "tractable", "feasible", "efficient", or "fast"--qualities we can use in time and efficiency-based problems in socio-cultural studies.  My understanding of P vs NP is shallow and very little, but I already see concepts that are applicable in anthropology.  I can't help but ask if algorithm for culture change is possible.       When I started here maybe three years ago, I was addicted to systems and models.  I also wrote about Social Physics and my wishful statement about the possibility of applying the Laws of Physics in the study of culture.  I still have the same questions now but not necessarily laws like the ones in Thermodynamics.  So let me start.  Can we apply Stress Terms from Mechanics of Materials or the simple formula for pressure (force/area) from high school Physics in analyzing economic stress or cultural pressure?  Force can be poverty or religious fundamentalism or gangsterism, and area can be a community, a village or a city. Can we quantify economic stress and cultural pressure?  I doubt a simple formula will do the job.  Will the mathematics for complex systems work? Anthropologists can be too wordy, repetitive, and long-winded especially if they are filling a required number of pages.  Can Foundations of Mathematics be used as another language that simplifies concepts and clarifies logic?  Maybe an Euler Diagram (imagine a small circle--subset--within a big circle--superset) from Set Theory can be a precise representation of a marginalized group within a marginalized community or a moderate group within a conservative political party.  I know this is basic and has been done before in social sciences, but can we use the advance, complex stuff? For sure, culture is a complex system that controls chaos with groupings and categories. There are variables and constants in culture too.  Can they be expressed mathematically? I don't pretend to know all the answers, and I'm too old to go back to my high school dream of solving one of the prized conjectures.  The thought that maybe anthropology students in the future will have the chance to choose Theoretical Anthropology as a field of expertise or even an undergraduate course, where they will study Physical Anthropology (not the biological one), Computational Anthropology, Mathematical Anthropology, and Systems Anthropology, tickles my dreamy mind. Maybe this will be the cutting edge in anthropological theories that will replace and bury Postmodernism, Poststructuralisn, and Postcolonialism for good.                            

From reader Q.C.: I'm writing to you as your article "The SAT Fails a Grammar Test" came to my mind the other day when I happened to stumble on the following Identifying Sentence Error question from a PSAT: Opposite to the opinion of several respected literary critics, Jane Austen does not make good taste or manners in themselves sure signs of virtue in her characters. I came up with three possible answers. The College Board people may feel that the phrase "opposite to" should be replaced by a more idiomatic expression, such as "opposed to" or "contrary to;" or that Jane Austen, being deceased, should be described with the past tense, thus faulting "does not;" or they may believe that there's no error, since dictionaries agree that "opposite" can mean "contrary", and the so-called "historical present tense" is quite common in literary review and literary criticism. As I'm not a native speaker of the English language, I asked an intelligent American teacher of English literature for clarification. She kindly pointed out that the phrase "opposite to" sounds "uneducated" and hence needs revision, as the College Board officially agrees. Still, she confessed, "even educated colleagues outside of the English Department make such errors." Q.C. points out that "opposite to the opinion of X" sometimes occurs in published works, citing Google Books examples like these: I distrust my own judgement, especially as it is opposite to the opinion of a majority of gentlemen… … in an inaugural dissertation published here in the year 1786, relates an experiment made by him which is completely opposite to the opinion of Haller… … this construction or mentioning of statements opposite to the opinion one holds seems too obvious by itself to count as much of an understanding test for recipients of irony. So Q.C. wonders whether this question hinges on what he call "the subject agreement theory", whereby the opening phrase "Opposite to the opinion of several respected literary critics" should modify the subject of the following clause, Jane Austen. But it bothers him that this requirement would presumably not be imposed if the phrase were "Contrary to the opinion of several respected literary critics", and that other initial adjective phrases like "More important" are also often used as sentence-level adjuncts. I might add that it's not hard to find published examples where "opposite to X" is used as a sentence adjunct, although this is obviously much rarer than "contrary to X": Opposite to expectations, however, the children who received the intrinsic motivation training and were rewarded scored higher in their creativity than did the children who received the training but were not rewarded. Opposite to our predictions parental rewards (B=-.18) and role modelling (B=-.11) significantly decreased outcome certainty. Opposite to this theory a starting vortex (OSV) is shed from both trailing edges after they have separated. Q.C. argues that "questions of this kind lean unfavorably toward international students who are well versed in the English language", since "a clever non-native speaker with considerable knowledge of English usage and some pragmatic, semantic, and syntactical understanding" may still "not fully understand what 'language pundits' think of a particular wording". It's clear, I think, that "Opposite to the opinion of X" is much less idiomatic than "Contrary to the opinion of X" as a sentence-level modifier; and it's fair to evaluate SAT test takers on whether or not they know this. But the College Board probably did frame this question as a "dangling modifier" error, not an "unexpected n-gram" error, in which case the answer should have been the same if the test sentence had read Contrary to the opinion of several respected literary critics, Jane Austen does not make good taste or manners in themselves sure signs of virtue in her characters. And this takes us right back to the key problem with the SAT's "Identifying Sentence Errors" questions, as I explained in my 2005 post: In each test sentence, I could easily see one place where some people would identify an error. However, each of the possible "errors" is doubtful at best, and "No Error" is always one of the options. As a result, my decision about how to answer becomes a judgment about the linguistic ideology of the College Board, not a judgment about English grammar and style. This is a problem for all thoughtful and well-informed test takers, not just for non-native speakers. And my suggested emendation still stands: Eliminate the "No Error" answers from the "Identifying Sentence Errors" questions, and rephrase the instructions as something like: The following sentences test your ability to recognize grammar and usage errors. Each sentence contains one example of a word choice or a grammatical choice that is often regarded as an error by skilled users of standard American English. Select the one underlined part that must be changed to avoid this perception of error. Q.C. concludes: Though I received an 800 in the SAT Writing in my sophomore year (2012), I am not at all happy with these weird types of question. It is amazing that eight years after you published your critical essay online, the College Board still haven't responded, and no change has been made to the test design. I'm afraid that he overestimates the influence of Language Log. But it's true, the "Identifying Sentence Errors" questions were a bad design in 2005, and they remain a bad design today.

Christians around the world celebrate Easter with thoughts of the empty tomb and resurrection of Christ. But there is more. Weather permitting, children are let loose in their Sunday best to hunt for Easter eggs, adding a secular, healthy, dietary blessing to the baskets of chocolate bunnies and jelly beans waiting at home. Even the White House lawn is set for the annual Easter Egg Roll (minus the Christian Rock) on Monday. It is as though many Christians are not content to leave the tomb empty. Apparently egged on by the spring fever of long forgotten fertility rites, the main message of Christianity gets sidetracked to a debate of anything but intellectual designing: which comes first, the Easter egg or the Easter bunny? Eggs are not the exclusive mystical domain of Christendom (although the ludicrous lengths taken to parade a sacred holiday into outrageous bonnets and Texas-shaped eggs suggest we have entered the dispensation of Christendumb). Secular folk and agnostics eat their eggs for breakfast with bacon, toast and diner coffee. But all God’s children like eggs, including Muslims with internet savy and a taste for the miraculous. Take a gander (but do not confuse his spouse’s eggs with those shown here) at the three eggs shown below. What do you see different in the middle egg than the ones on either side (hint: the left is from the White House State of the Union Eggroll and the right is reported from last year’s Easter Sunday): (more…)

To round out articles of interest from the March journals…..Enjoy!   BioSocieties This month, BioSocieties presented a volume guest edited by Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner and Bob Simpson on experimental ethics, using an internationally comparative eye towards ethical practices.   Precarious ethics: Toxicology research among self-poisoning hospital admissions in Sri Lanka (Salla Sariola and Bob Simpson) This paper examines clinical trials of an antidote to be used against individuals who have poisoned themselves. The trials took place in Sri Lanka in 2008 and 2009, where high numbers of individuals inflict self-harm through poisoning. Sariola and Simpson argue that we can think of the victims in three different positions: as abjects, as objects, and as subjects. The victims of self-poisoning are abjects in that they have marginalized themselves by attempting to kill themselves, thus placing themselves on the fringe of society. However, it is through this very subject position of abjection that an individual has the opportunity to become the object of research and experimentation, in a system bounded by ethical guidelines that view these individuals as subjects. Broadly, Sariola and Simpson explore the relationship between self-harm and personhood in the context of human subject research and medical clinical trials, which they view as messy states of exception. Thus, they “set out to observe closely the conduct of the trial in order to gain insight into the way that ethics is performed in this precarious context” (42). They take as their ethnographic site the moment when an individual who has poisoned himself is poised to transition from abject to object/subject: the moment when he is asked to participate in the clinical trial. They use this moment to interrogate the ethics at play in the decision to participate: “It is not about self-harm or suicide as such, or the experiences of these patients and their families, but about the ways in which humanitarian interventions, randomised control trials and human subject research are brought together in novel configurations and guided by an ethics, which circumstances dictate as precarious” (43). They conclude that the clinical trial forms a particular state of exception in which the object/subject is actually humanized, rather than dehumanized: “within the normative codes that govern human subject research there is an expectation that the patient will move from a state of abjection to one of dignity and respect through the process of becoming a research participant. Here, falling within an experimental gaze does not result in dehumanisation, as it did within the concentration camps, but rather its opposite, the possibility of recognition as an autonomous and rights-bearing agent.” (54).   Discursive dialects of bioethics: Understanding the institutional embeddings of human stem cell experimentation in India (Prasanna Kumar Patra and Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner) Patra and Sleeboom-Faulkner examine experimental stem cell therapy (ESCT) in India, questioning how it is that ESCT is so commonly available despite legal prohibition and little scientific evidence in favor for its efficacy. They ask how providers survive in this environment. The answer has to do with the (unfounded) hope ESCT provides patients with incurable disease> Patra and Sleeboom-Faulkner primarily contend that ESCT providers survive through bionetworking, or “informal forms of socio-scientific and entrepreneurial liaison” (75).   Latent science collaboration: Strategies of bioethical capacity building in Mainland China’s stem cell world (Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner) In this article, Sleeboom-Faulkner looks at how international standards in scientific research and collaboration have molded Mainland China’s domestic regulations and practices. She posits the idea of latent collaboration for “collaborations that are not (yet) noticeable or developped” (9). She sees these types of latent collaborations between Chinese and international scientists. The paper is interview- and fieldwork-based, extending from interviews of over 40 scientists in mainland China between 2006 and 2008. Sleeboom-Faulkner further seeks “to show that the structural dynamics of economic inequality in the global economy can only partly explain regulatory permissiveness in the life sciences in China….a main problem is that emergent collaborations hinge on an increasingly widespread moral economy expressed in the values of ethically and scientifically schooled staff, the development of academic networks, the creation of biomedical ethics committees, science exchange agreements, and in what counts as scientific achievements in international peer-reviewed journals” (8).   Culture, Medicine, Psychiatry Same and Different in Trans-Local East Asian Medicine (Judith Farquhar) Farquhar offers the first of two introductions to a special section in this Culture, Medicine, Psychiatry devoted to the study of mental illness in East Asian Medicine. She begins with the following questions: “Why should medical anthropologists be interested in East Asian traditional medicine? Especially, we might ask, why should anyone–clinician or anthropologist– care about the history of the abstruse knowledge and highly technical practice that have been ‘traditional’ in China, Japan, and Korea?” (105) She answers that clinicians and anthropologists ought to care as discussions of East Asian Medicine bring forward conversations of the universality and/or locality of the body, disease, and medicine. All of these issues acquire intensified meaning in the context of the study of globalization, shifting our answers from epistemological difference to practical similarity. She is interested in “what kind of knowing is most salient in medical practice” and suggests that we “think away from the ‘problem’ of differences and ask whether some kinds of sameness might also inform a trans-local anthropology of medicine– historically, epistemologically, clinically, experientially” (108).   Constraint as a Window on Approaches to Emotion-Related Disorders in East Asian Medicine (Volker Scheid) Scheid too writes opening remarks for the set of papers addressing East Asian Medicine. His introduction and research begins with seeing depression as an epidemic and the DSM as system of exporting Western categories: “Far from objectively assessing mental health they seek to shape specific ways of citizenship and of being a person that, rather conveniently, match the western neoliberal economic order. Displacing modes of dealing with mental health issues that emphasize interpersonal relationships or social and economic causes, depression thus becomes just one more condition that reflects and sustains globally dominant networks of consumption and control in the twenty first century” (2). Scheid sees this process as a two way street. While the DSM and ICD export Western categories, popular Western demand now forces biomedicine to exist alongside complementary and alternative medicines. The set of papers that follows treats East Asian medicine as a unified field not to overstate national traditions, but rather the emphasize a shared use of constraint in dealing with emotion-related disorders.   Treating Emotion-Related Disorders in Japanese Traditional Medicine: Language, Patients and Doctors (Keiko Daidoji) Daidoji looks at how popular understandings of illness shape traditional Japanese medicine (Kampo), specifically by tracing the changing meaning of constraint (utsu) in Kamp. During the Edo poeriod, utso referred to emotion-related disorders. Western medicine spread throughout Japan during the Meiji period and neurasthenia replaced utsu as the primary emotional disorder. Daidoji examines how doctors innovated in response to the new disease categories, by focusing on Wada Tõkaku’s practice during the Edo period and then looking at Yomuto Kyūshin and Mori Dõhaku, Kampo doctors in the early twentieth century who oriented their practice to neurasthenia rather than the utsu.   Stories to Be Told: Korean Doctors Between Hwa-byung (Fire-Illness) and Depression, 1970-2011 (Soyoung Suh) Suh probes the construction of hwa-byung, or Koreans’ emotion-related disorder, in which Koreans draw upon both a traditional notion of “constrained fire” and the DSM’s “depressive disorders” to create and amalgam category. Suh is particularly attuned to how this categorical mélange reflects Korea’s self-positioning within a global context: “Whereas the label of hwa-byung initiated the indigenous turn during the 1980s, now the term succinctly responds to the recent trend of exploring the colloquial dimension of medicine” (81).   The Excitations and Suppressions of the Times: Locating the Emotions in the Liver in Modern Chinese Medicine (Eric I. Karchmer) Karchmer explores how doctors of Chinese medicine borrow from theories of  “constraint” to treat emotion-related disorders: “How do doctors of Chinese medicine treat a psychiatric condition, such as depression, when their is no such disease category in their medical practice?” (8). Karchmer uses two historical periods to answer this question, the first being the 1920s and 1930s, when “leading scholars of Chinese medicine were engaged in a critical and experimental reexamination of the entire corpus of traditional medical knowledge” as a result of the encounter with imperialism and the rise of Japan as a superpower (10). Then he turns to the 1950s and 1960s when scholars “were focused on identifying the key characteristics of Chinese medicine and promoting the methodology of bianzheng lunzhi” (10) in a moment of Chinese institution building and reunification.   The Cultural Construction of Mental Illness in Prison: A Perfect Storm of Pathology (Joseph D. Galanek) Galanek examines staff narratives of mental illness in an American prison to see how staffers construct psychiatric illness amongst inmates. How does comorbidity confound categorical construction? Galanek questions how categories cross along DSM axes, addiction, and structural issues of social pathology such as histories of homelessness and street violence. He is primarily attuned to diagnostics and how practitioners apply a diagnostic to something so multifaceted as mental illness: “Thick accounts of the examination reveal significant aspects of how these diagnostic acts are embedded within institutional contexts. In attending to such processes, I draw attention to the indeterminacy of inmate subjectivities and behaviors which prison mental health clinicians attempt to ‘objectify’ and how these clinical complexities create diagnostic uncertainties and thus problematize psychiatric knowledge” (197). He argues that in a system of multi diagnostic meanings, “[c]ontext becomes a critical component of diagnostic processes, and staff recognize that behaviors may be challenging to interpret and that the diagnostic process is complicated by how inmates respond and react to the prison environment” (219).   Doing Resilience with ‘Half a Brain:’ Navigating the Moral Sensibilities 35 Years After Hemispherectomy (Andrew R. Hatala, James B. Waldram, and Margaret Crossley) Hatala, Waldram, and Crossley work closely with two disabled adults who underwent hemispherectomies as children due to severe seizure disorders. The authors treat their everyday actions as ads of resilience, conceptualizing resilience as “the individualized intentional actions which disabled, distraught, or at risk individuals perform in contextually relevant and idiosyncratic ways as they navigate health and well-being within their local social and moral worlds” (148).   Opening the Gift: Social Inclusion, Professional Codes and Gift-Giving in Long-Term Mental Healthcare (S.T.C. Ootes, A.J. Pols, E.H. Tonkens, D.L. Willems) Deinstitutionalization has made destigmatization and social inclusion part of the community mental heath care professional’s job. This paper examines how the professional obligation to socially include a mentally ill individual sometimes clashes with other professional obligations– in this case, the act of gift-giving from patient to professional. Accepting a personal gift would be an act of social inclusion, but violates other professional codes of ethics. Based on 2007-2008 fieldwork from a Dutch mental health care facility, the authors ask “what types of gifts do clients of mental healthcare give to their care professionals, and how do these gifts relate to professional codes and the objective of social inclusion?” (133).   Ethos We Want to See Our King’: Apparitions in Messianic Habad (Yoram Bilu) Rabbi Menachem Mendel Shneerson died in 1994, but members of the messianic Hasidim (meshichistim) report seeing apparitions of the late Rabbi. Bilu uses a cognitive model of misattribution to explain these apparitions through the “messianic ecology cultivated by the meshichlistim to make the absent Rabbi present” (98). Bilu further distinguishes apparition from vision, hallucination, and visualization.   Border Children: Interpreting Autism Spectrum Disorder in South Korea (Roy Richard Grinker and Kyungjin Cho) Grinker and Cho examine the decision of many Korean mothers to resist a DSM diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) for their children. These mothers accept that their children are different, but use fundamentally different categories than the DSM to characterize their children. Where the DSM sees a spectrum, Korean mothers see a border zone, instead calling their children ‘border children’ (gyonggye-seon aideul). They see their children as being socially awkward, isolated, and sometimes with unusual interests, but view these differences in a social, rather than biomedical, frame. Particularly in light of the common academic successes of these children, their issues are seen as only falling within the  social domain. Yet by rejecting a DSM label, these mothers place themselves in a bureaucratic bind: “By choosing to resist a diagnosis of ASD they were also rejecting clinical and special education services, because delivery of those services in South Korea is contingent on a DSM diagnostic label. Yet some of them did take their children to private social skills programs, as these lessons were considered a form of play, rather than clinical therapy or special education. We are concerned in this article with how and why mothers make these choices” (49).   Power Struggles: The Paradoxes of Emotion and Control among Child-Centered Mothers in the Privileged United States (Diane M. Hoffman) Hoffman looks at the notion of the “power struggle” between parent and child as a cultural trope amongst economically advantaged mothers of preschool and elementary school-aged children in the Mid-Atlantic US. She argues that the “power struggle” trope ““encodes important insights concerning culturally situated notions of power, selfhood, and emotional control” (76). As such, she uses the “power struggle” as a way of examining parenting values and how parenting practices form the identities of both mothers and children.   All That is Just Ersatz: The Meaning of Work in the Life of Immigrant Newcomers (Sveta Roberman) Roberman studies how employment (or underemployment) shapes to lives of middle- to late-middle-aged Jewish immigrants who moved to Germany following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Roberman “underscores the arena of work as playing a formative role in the creation of immigrants’ self-perceptions and identities,” arguing “that experiences originating in the work sphere have a strong impact on the nature of the immigrant-host relationship” (2). In other words, other forms of marginalization extend from the social stigma associated with being an immigrant unable to secure a formal job, perpetuating the immigrant’s sense of being a newcomer or foreigner.   Change and the Construction of Gendered Selfhood among Mexican Men Experiencing Erectile Difficulty (Emily Wentzell) Working in the context of machismo, “a patriarchal style of masculinity characterized by virility, womanizing, and emotional withdrawal” (24), whether as a rascist sterotype, passe reality, or current cultural norm, Wentzell explores the role of erectile difficulty in the construction of masculinity. She interviewed 250 older, working class urology patients in the Mexican city of Cuernavaca who were experiencing ED as a result of their urological condition. The interviewees expressed a recognition of a shift in how manliness is expressed as men age, becoming more centered on family and less on sexual activity. Wentzell brings in a conversation of selfhood by examining how ED medication is used by men to create a different identity.   Health Medication communication during ward rounds on medical wards: Power relations and spatial practices (Wei Liu, Elizabeth Manias, and Marie Gerdtz) Liu, Manias, and Gerdtz focus on communication surrounding medication management through the routinzed practice of rounding, “sites where key decisions are made about initiating, continuing, altering, or ceasing medications” (114). The authors conducted ethnographic fieldwork at two medical wards in a teaching hospital in Melbourne. Their analysis of discursive power in medication management takes on a spatial dimension; physicians come out of their offices to the patients bedside, while nurses primarily work in open-floor units in public. Physicians can move to the bedside and away from it, acquiring the power to determine when the patient is relevant and when not. The epitome of this spatial distribution of power is the private group conversation that occurs somewhat informally amongst physicians and to which other members of the medication decision making team (nurses, pharmacists, patients) are not privy.   Troubling stoicism: Sociocultural influences and applications to health and illness behavior (Andrew Moore, Janet Grime, Paul Campbell, and Jane Richardson) This paper interrogates the relationship between stoicism and pain. Studies have found that patient stoicism actually inhibits only the reporting of mild and weak pain, with no effect on the reporting of severe or moderate pain. Moore et al take this as an indication that stoicism has its limits. They attempt to identify this limit by filling in the gap in the study of stoicism vis-à-vis chronic illness. They conclude that there is a danger that applying a label of stoicism may in fact only serve to hinder the questioning of illness behaviours which might otherwise benefit from further exploration. We would suggest that a more considered exploration of the context in which the term stoicism is used is important to furthering an understanding of how people cope with and manage chronic illness, particularly painful health conditions. Silence in the face of ill health and pain is not necessarily a marker of stoicism, and the basis and reason for an individual’s silence should warrant closer scrutiny” (170).   ‘I just want to be normal’: An analysis of discourses of normality among recovering heroin users (Sarah Nettleton, Joanne Neale, and Lucy Pickering) Locating their work within a population of heroin addicts for whom life is difficult, the authors examine what it means when addicts utter the common refrain “I just want to be normal.” Ultimately, they suggest that “this benign aspiration is in fact an emblematic feature of modern society. The articulation of a desire to be normal is, we argue, not simply a personal goal but the product of a society that encourages and privileges normality” (175). The authors explore these issues using a Foucauldian lens that emphasizes social compliance and subjectivity through tactics of governmentality. Normal must be understood alongside the abnormal. The social construction of this binary pushes individuals to desire falling within the normal camp. The self-assertion of normality falls within a sociopolitical frame: “’I just want to be normal is a politically, socially, and psychologically loaded aspiration” (188).   How ‘alternative’ is CAM? Rethinking conventional dichotomies between biomedicine and complementary/alternative medicine (Ana M. Ning) Ning uses the explosion of interest in complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) in Canada and elsewhere as an opportunity to ask what exactly is meant when CAM practices are siphoned off from the biomedical. For Ning, CAM is perceived as dichotomous to biomedicine and is associated with “ideologies such as holism, vitalism, spirituality, natural healing, and individual responsibility” (136). Yet the increased demand for CAM therapies in contexts that are predominantly biomedical brings into question what happens to CAM when it is embraced by the mainstream. Ning examines the categories of CAM and biomedicine against binary oppositions through an integrated sociological paradigm that “approaches all micro and macro social phenomena in terms of a continuum entailing dialectical interrelationships between material realities (e.g. Society, bureaucracy, technology, law) and non-material processes (e.g. Beliefs, values, norms, perceptions). Using this theoretical lens, I contend that the so called alternative ideologies are integral aspects of biomedicine as well as socially and culturally dominant values, norms and practices related to health and health care” (137).     International Journal of Social Psychiatry Depression and the medicalization of sadness: Conceptualization and recommended help-seeking (Glòria Durà-Vilà, Roland Littlewood and Gerard Leavey) Background: Critiques of the validity of the DSM diagnostic criteria for depressive disorder argue that it fails to dif- ferentiate between abnormal sadness due to internal dysfunction or depression (sadness without an identifiable cause), and normal sadness (sadness with a clear cause). Aims and Methods: A population survey was undertaken in adult education centres in Spain aiming to explore beliefs about depression and normal sadness. Two hypothetical case vignettes portrayed individuals experiencing deep sadness, both fulfilling criteria for major depressive disorder (DSM-IV), one with a clear cause, the other without an identifiable cause. Three hundred and forty-four (344) questionnaires were obtained (95% response rate). Results: Participants statistically significantly differentiated between the sadness-with-cause vignette, seen more fre- quently as a normal response, while the one without a cause was seen as pathological. Help-seeking behaviour recom- mendations followed this distinction: a medical option was statistically significantly more common when there was no cause for sadness. Socio-cultural variation in how people understand and deal with sadness was also found. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the importance of taking into account the context in which depressive symptoms occur as it seems that the absence of an appropriate context is what makes people conceptualize them as abnormal. It also raises questions about the lack of face validity of the current diagnostic classification for depressive disorder that exclusively uses descriptive criteria.   Burden of informal care giving to patients with psychoses: A descriptive and methodological study (Lena Flyckt, Anna Löthman, Leif Jörgensen, Anders Rylander, and Thomas Koernig) Background: There is a lack of studies of the size of burden associated with informal care giving in psychosis. Aims: To evaluate the objective and subjective burden of informal care giving to patients with psychoses, and to com- pare a diary and recall method for assessments of objective burden. Method: Patients and their informal caregivers were recruited from nine Swedish psychiatric outpatient centres. Subjec- tive burden was assessed at inclusion using the CarerQoL and COPE index scales. The objective burden (time and money spent) was assessed by the caregivers daily using diaries over four weeks and by recall at the end of weeks 1 and 2. Results: One-hundred and seven patients (53% females; mean age 43 ± 11) and 118 informal caregivers (67%; 58 ± 15 years) were recruited. Informal caregivers spent 22.5 hours/week and about 14% of their gross income on care-related activities. The time spent was underestimated by two to 20 hours when assessed by recall than by daily diary records. The most prominent aspects of the subjective burden were mental problems. Conclusion: Despite a substantial amount of time and money spent on care giving, the informal caregivers perceived the mental aspects of burden as the most troublesome. The informal caregiver burden is considerable and should be taken into account when evaluating effects of health care provided to patients with psychoses.   A study of acculturation in psychotic and non-psychotic immigrants living in Athens (F. Gonidakis, E. Lembesi, V.P. Kontaxakis, B.J. Havaki-Kontaxaki, D. Ploumpidis, M. Madianos, and G.N. Papadimitriou) Background: Acculturation is the phenomenon that results when a group with one culture comes into continuous contact with a host culture. Aims: To investigate the correlation between acculturation and psychotic symptomatology in a group of immigrants suf- fering from psychosis and to explore differences in demographic factors related with the acculturation process between individuals with and without psychosis. Methods: Sixty-five patients and 317 non-psychotic immigrants were interviewed using the Immigrant Acculturation Scale (IAS) and a structured questionnaire for demographic data. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) and the Glοbal Assessment of Functioning (GAF) were also administered to all immigrants suffering from psychosis. Results: Total IAS scores, as well as IAS everyday life scores, were positively correlated with GAF scores. IAS everyday life score in the patient group related with religion, marital status, gender and years in Greece, while in the non-psychosis group it was related with gender and years in Greece. IAS wishful orientation/nostos (the strong desire for one’s home- land) related with religion in both groups. The IAS identity in the psychosis group did not show any significant relation with any of the variables, while in the non-patient group, it was related with marital status, gender and years in Greece. Age, duration of residence in Greece and higher adoption of Greek ethnic identity were the variables that differentiated the two groups of immigrants. Conclusion: Acculturation in immigrants suffering from psychosis could be seen as a process that does not correlate strongly with the severity of the symptomatology but is probably influenced by different set of factors.   A comparison of female migrant workers’ mental health in four cities in China (Xuesong He and Daniel Fu Keung Wong) Background: There are approximately 47.5 million female migrant workers living in major cities in China. Numerous studies have documented the marginalized living conditions confronting migrant workers in cities, such as employment difficulties, unjustifiably demanding working conditions, lack of medical insurance and social provision, poor housing conditions, unfavourable educational arrangements for migrant children, and discrimination by urban residents. In addition, female migrant workers may suffer from discrimination, exploitation and oppression. Aim: This study aimed to explore the difficulties and perceived meaningfulness of migration and their effect on the mental health status of female migrant workers in Shanghai, Kunshan, Dongguan and Shenzhen. Methods: A total of 959 female migrant workers from 12 factories completed the questionnaires, which included the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Migration Stress Scale and the Meaning in Migration Scale. Results: The findings indicate that 24% of female migrant workers could be classified as having poor mental health and the percentage in Shenzhen (35%) was far greater than in the three other cities in China. ‘Financial and employment- related difficulties’, ‘cultural differences’, gender-specific stressors and ‘better future for self and children’ significantly accounted for the mental health outcomes of female migrant workers. Conclusion: Recommendations for policy change and service initiatives targeted at improving the mental health of female migrant workers are discussed.   Sources of parental burden in a UK sample of first-generation North Indian Punjabi Sikhs and their white British Counterparts (Helen Lloyd, Pratima Singh, Rowena Merritt, Adarsh Shetty, Swaran Singh, and Tom Burns) Objective: The correlates of parental burden in schizophrenia may differ between ethnic groups, but few studies have examined this in a UK setting. Our aim was to identify the correlates of burden in a UK sample of first-generation North Indian Punjabi Sikh parents and their white British counterparts. Method: Test the association of burden with a series of clinical, social and service use variables and control for potential confounding factors in a model predicting drivers of burden in a combined sample of the above. Results: The strongest correlates of burden were patient symptoms and parental distress. Differences in correlates of burden between the groups emerged when individual components of service use and parental social network were tested. The group comparisons also revealed differences in expressed emotion (EE) and social networks. Conclusion: The similarities in sources of burden between the groups could be explained by a commonality of socio- cultural and economic experience, resulting from the successful acculturation and affluence of this British Sikh group. The differences between the groups may be related to enduring cultural factors such as kin support, since larger family groups were associated with low burden in the British Sikh group. The nature of EE in this British Sikh group may explain why it was not associated with burden in this sample.   The uncut jade: Differing views of the potential of expert users on staff traingin and rehabilitation programmes for service users in Hong Kong (Roger M.K. Ng, Veronica Pearson, Yin Wan Pang, N.S. Wong, N.C. Wong, and F.M. Chan) Background: Service user participation in direct service provision and evaluation has been developing in the western world in the past 20 years. However, this recovery-based care model is relatively new in Asia. Aim: To understand the views and perceptions of the service users and of psychiatric nurses about the recruitment of peer specialists in a regional psychiatric unit in Hong Kong. Method: A qualitative study using probe questions to understand the above issues in the form of focus group discus- sion. A total of 13 psychiatric nurses and 16 mental health service users were recruited from a regional psychiatric unit for the study. Results: Content analysis based loosely on grounded theory has identified several important themes. While service users are generally enthusiastic about the potential contribution of peer specialists in a service setting, they are much concerned about rejection and discrimination by the psychiatric staff. Psychiatric nurses are also sceptical about the involvement of peer specialists in the delivery of service, although for an entirely different set of reasons. In view of the divergent views of the service users and the psychiatric nurses, a second round of focus group discussion was conducted seven months later to understand whether the themes distilled were consistent with their views expressed in the first round of focus group discussion. Conclusion: It is encouraging is that, for those psychiatric nurses who worked with volunteer service users in the pilot scheme of ‘expert user participation’, there was a change in view towards positive acceptance about peer specialist involvement in service delivery. The study provides some insight into the potential obstacles to and opportunities in the implementation of peer specialist services in routine psychiatric services in Hong Kong.   Lessons from the 2004 Asian tsunami: Epidemiological and nosological debates in the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder in non-Western post-disaster communities (A.P. Rajkumar, T.S.P. Mohan, and P. Tharyan) Background: The nosological validity of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) remains controversial in non-Western communities. After natural disasters, epidemiological studies often overlook these conceptual debates and assess post- traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) by short screening instruments. Such PTSS estimates are reported as inflated prevalence rates of PTSD in post-disaster settings. Aims: To discuss the prevalence and determinants of PTSS within the context of pertinent epidemiological and nosological debates. Methods: We assessed PTSS and grief symptoms of 643 survivors from five Indian villages struck by the Asian tsunami using the Impact of Events Scale – Revised and Complicated Grief Assessment Scale. We adopted a case control design and employed complex sample multiple logistic regression statistics to study the determinants of PTSS. Results: The prevalence of PTSS was 15.1% (95% CI 12.3%–17.9%). PTSS was significantly associated with traumatic grief, female gender, physical injury, death of children and financial losses, but not with functional disability (p = .91). Conclusions: Although PTSS were common in this population, elevating them to a psychiatric construct of PTSD is questionable, when functional impairment and avoidance behaviours were absent. Grief reactions, socio-economic burden, and poor support systems contribute towards PTSS. We highlight the important issues regarding the nosological validity and epidemiology of PTSD in non-Western communities.   Patient participation in mental healthcare: When is it difficult? A qualitative study of users and providers in a mental health hospital in Norway (Marit Solbjør, Marit By Rise, Heidi Westerlund, and Aslak Steinsbekk) Background: In western countries, patient participation is requested in policies on mental health services. Participation is built on ideas of democracy and individual responsibility. Mental illness has, however, been characterized by its irrational features. Aim: To investigate mental health service users’ and providers’ views on patient participation during episodes of mental illness. Methods: Qualitative interview study with 20 users and 25 staff from a mental health hospital in central Norway. Results: Both users and professionals saw poor illness phases as an obstacle to patient participation. Lack of insight, lack of verbal ability and difficulty cooperating made participation difficult. During such phases, patient participation was redefined.There was a shift in responsibility where professionals took charge through strategies of providing information, motivating patients and reducing choices. Respect and dignity were maintained and not redefined. Conclusions: In poor phases of mental illness, patient participation was redefined and weighed against what was perceived to be the patient’s best interest.   Gender differences in the psychological impact of tsunami (Biju Viswanath, Ami S. Maroky, Suresh B. Math, John P. John, Anish V. Cherian, Satish C. Girimaji, Vivke Benegal, Ameer Hamza, and Santosh K. Chaturvedi) Aim: The aim of this observational study was to explore gender-related differences in psychiatric morbidity during the initial three months following the December 2004 earthquake and tsunami involving the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Methods: There were 12,784 survivors sheltered across 74 relief camps with 4,684 displaced survivors in Port Blair and 8,100 non-displaced survivors in Car-Nicobar Island. All persons who accessed mental health assistance within the camps constituted the study sample. Diagnoses were made by qualified psychiatrists using the ICD-10. There were 475 patients: 188 (40%) men and 287 (60%) women. Results: There were significant gender differences in terms of displacement. There were significantly higher levels of panic disorder, unspecified anxiety disorder and somatic complaints in the displaced women while the non-displaced population showed more adjustment disorder. Conclusions: Displacement was a significant factor in the manifestations of observed pathology. Displaced women had greater psychiatric morbidity. In addition, the fact that adjustment disorder (a self-limiting disorder form of psychopa- thology) was more prevalent in the non-displaced group may be a reflection of the findings of overall lesser morbidity in non-displaced women. Hence, women may have to be rehabilitated in their own habitats after major disasters.