Applied Anthropology Research Articles

Poder sobre la micropolítica en la universidad de Esmeraldas

This case of applied anthropology results from a contextual study, from the observation of power relations within the institution, and from the attempt to understand them. After the research work, based on questionnaires and interviews, in addition to the cases attended to by the University Welfare Directorate, the systematization of abuses based on the control of gender body expression, political-economic, and discursive positions is evident. that crossed hair/hair, clothing and militancy. The ethnography within the institution itself, the “Luis Vargas Torres” Technical University of Esmeraldas – the only public university in a province with a majority black population. The student body – to a lesser extent the teaching staff – has been forced to express with their body what the university institutional micropolitics established as normative, and which was intertwined with the racism that the student body did not want to continue assuming as they communicated in their complaints in the Directorate of University Welfare. The creation of the “ALMARGEN” research group helped to generate an applied anthropology, which illuminated the possibility of debating and approving – with some concessions in the initial claims – an affirmative action regulation in which, above all, it tends to create the academic and coexistence environment, which facilitates expression through clothing, speeches, associations and/or creativity of the university community. And that explains that no control will be exercised in classrooms and/or campuses over free expression, with emphasis on hair, also free. Applied anthropology has been more than the expression of a desire, and this is manifested in the fact that women will be the main candidates for positions of responsibility.

Park, Partnerships, and Place: Interdisciplinary Student Perspectives on Applied Anthropology Research in the City

Park, Partnerships, and Place: Interdisciplinary Student Perspectives on Applied Anthropology Research in the City

Archaeology and Applied Anthropology as a Collaborative Approach to Decolonization

Archaeology and Applied Anthropology as a Collaborative Approach to Decolonization

Conducting Research with Unaccompanied Refugee Minors within an Institutional Context: Challenges and Insights

The main goal of this paper is to explore the difficulties the refugee minors face in the process of seeking inclusion in Portugal. The project conducting this research takes place in a shelter for refugee minors in Portugal, and its inhabitants are the main focus of the analysis. The research is guided by Applied Anthropology which means that, in methodological terms, we use active listening, participant observation, and artistic workshops in drawing and photography in order to get to know them better and establish a closer relationship with the minors. Our interlocutors are refugee minors, boys and girls, aged between 15 and 18, who have been institutionalized by an NGOD responsible for hosting them in Portugal while they await their residence permit. These minors are characterized by a diversity of nationalities, socio-cultural and ethnolinguistic references and different life projects. The artistic focus (drawing and photography) is explored as a non-invasive methodology, a tool that best helps to express emotions, perceptions and desires in a creative and uncompromising way. We chose to focus our analysis not on the traumatic past, as is usually the case when it comes to refugees, but on the future. In other words: we invite these minors to think about their future, what they want for themselves in Portugal and the European Union. As we discuss our difficulties of conducting fieldwork in the institutionalized context, we conclude the article with the idea that working with refugee minors in that environment should not be an end in and of itself, but rather an opportunity to do more profound research. This investigation should continue, preferably outside the institutional gates, on a more personalized basis. As a practical goal, we also propose the idea of organizing an exhibition with the results of the workshops to facilitate the two-way process of inclusion.

The Benefits of Using Cultural Domain Analysis in Applied Anthropology

The Benefits of Using Cultural Domain Analysis in Applied Anthropology

Mentorship to Support Mental Health for Students in Applied Anthropology

Mentorship to Support Mental Health for Students in Applied Anthropology

Applied anthropology’s invisibility in Europe

Applied anthropology’s invisibility in Europe

Understanding the impact of COVID-19 Outbreak on Primary School-aged Children in Sindh: A Contextual Analysis of Post-Pandemic Education

COVID-19 has changed the way we lived, worked and learnt. It has adversely impacted everyone, especially the most vulnerable groups: people with disabilities, senior citizens and children. The negative effects on children's health, socio-psychological development, and intellectual advancement are regarded to be unprecedented in recent human history. This paper examines the educational system of Hyderabad, a city in Sindh, Pakistan during COVID-19 and it investigates the negative effects on children and their school learning. This study is interdisciplinary, focusing on Applied Anthropology and Education policy and pedagogy. Mixed methods both qualitative as well as quantitative are used to collect and analyse the data. For qualitative data collection, ethnographic research methods such as participant observation, semi-structured interviews and case study are used. Surveys through digital sources such as email, WhatsApp, Facebook and SMS are implied to collect quantitative data. Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in a Government Primary School (GPS), Hyderabad, Pakistan. The findings of the study reveal that post COVID-19 has impacted the school learning and experience of educational attainment in multiple ways to the primary school aged going children. Moreover, it has also revealed the uneven socio-economic opportunities for learning, and discloses the government's inability to reach out to the most vulnerable class of the society in the time of emergency.

Threats on Marine Mammals: an Anthropological Perspective

Many species of marine mammals are threatened and their populations decline worldwide due to the increase of anthropogenic activities such as fishing, shipping, pollution and climate change. Our understanding of marine mammal behavior/ecology remains poor and under-documented since studies of the kind are extremely challenging in practice and theory. Applied anthropology can help provide effective strategies based on cultural compatibility. Marine biology has already validated that biodiversity is beneficial to the ecosystem and so should anthropology promote the significance of mutualism in society.

Social Psychiatry and Anthropology: A Transdisciplinary Approach

The integration of social psychiatry and clinical anthropology has a rich history marked by shared interests in phenomenology and scientific epidemiology, shaping mental healthcare significantly. Social psychiatrists and clinical anthropologists strive for a holistic comprehension of mental illnesses through extensive research and deepening knowledge of their respective disciplines. The amalgamation of social psychiatry and anthropology helps elucidate the complex interplay between mental health and societal dynamics, fostering culturally sensitive care. Anthropology offers a comparative understanding of mental health care, highlighting the influence of culture on the experience of mental stress and care provision. It also addresses research gaps and promotes interdisciplinary collaboration. Transdisciplinary approaches bridge clinical practice and social context in public mental health, providing comprehensive insights into mental health issues, and paving the way for culturally informed interventions. Applied anthropology, particularly, plays a crucial role in evaluating community acceptance of health initiatives and developing effective interventions tailored to specific contexts.

Applied anthropology, injustice, and the ethics of intervention

AbstractFifty years ago, anthropologists, including applied researchers, were caught up in a dilemma of ethics and practice, in the face of criticisms of ethnographic embroilment in colonial, military, and neocolonial projects. But the epistemological crises that this provoked, together with anthropological engagement in political movements, sharpened our commitment to work with others to counter systemic, structural, and enacted violence. Today, continued inequality at local and global levels is deeply complicated by corporate globalization and climate change. Ethnographic research and anthropological engagement is urgent and critical, requiring our persistence to redress social wrongs through supportive, generous partnerships, as advocates and as outspoken witnesses.

Lessons Learned from Dr. Betty Faust An Applied Anthropology Researcher

Lessons Learned from Dr. Betty Faust An Applied Anthropology Researcher

Philosopical Relativism and Experience of the Second Person

The article is a retrospection of the internship, that me, as a young yet-to-be graduate of Applied Anthropology studies in John Paul’s II Catholic University of Lublin undertook in Zambia. As a student, it always baffled, are there are ways to compare a world views, in order to evaluate which one is better? Is it even possible, in the world where so many people from so many cultures exist, to find some universal values on which everyone can agree? Why would one stand by his statement that a given thing is right, while so many things are just “encoded” to us whether we like it or not. That is when I have found out about the idea of “relativism”, and amazed by it, decided to make it my main field of interest. Now, as a full-fledged graduate, I look back at my experience and contemplate the nature of the interaction with the second person. I reflect on the idea of relativism, while supporting myself with the works of Wittgenstein and Maria Baghramian. I also formulate my own ideas based on what I have experienced during my work in Africa as an foreigner in a territory I knew very little about.

Sharing in Their Daily Routines, Joys and Sorrows: Notes from Zambia

This article is a subjective account of a three-month stay in northern Zambia to carry out research and do volunteer assistance. Written from the perspective of a Polish student of Applied Anthropology, the text shows a gradual change in the Author’s perception of the surrounding new reality, the difficulty of avoiding culture shock, and facing cultural obstacles that, despite preparation, are difficult to be ready for. The main objective, however, is to try to enter the local environment, understand the behaviour, beliefs of Zambians and establish a relationship with the locals. By conducting research on Zambian culture and research on the human flourishing of social life leads, observations are enriched by real conversations with Zambians who open up to the interviewee and enter into a cross-cultural dialogue.

Beyond Methods: A Model for Teaching Theory in Applied Anthropology

AbstractRising numbers of anthropology majors are entering sectors in industry, in which qualitative data analysis skills and theoretical thinking are essential. Yet, a disciplinary divide between theoretical and applied approaches in anthropology and a market for commodified method skills often present challenges to teaching theory in the applied anthropology classroom. Our study is based upon the successful implementation of a three‐phase qualitative data analysis model—Reduce, Visualize, Draw Conclusions, and Verify—developed by Miles and Huberman and Ladner, in a series of anthropology graduate practicum courses at Wayne State University (2017–21), in which students worked with corporate clients from Chevrolet, Nissan, and D‐Ford. Our findings highlight the integral role of theory to the academic and practicing research process and provide a template for other practicum‐based classes to teach analysis.

Determinants of Complementary Foods Choice for Children in South West Benin

The choice of complementary foods, especially for children aged 0-23 months, remains an issue in most parts of the world, particularly in developing countries. We examine in this paper the factors determining the choice of complementary foods for children aged 0-23 months in southwest Benin. The data comes from the Unt Amed survey conducted by the Applied Anthropology Research Group (AARG) in December 2020. The study employed an unordered multinomial logit regression model and bivariate analyses. Through conometric models, results show that complementary foods are introduced early to children. The choice of complementary foods is dependent on average family income, mother's occupation, food taboos, number of economically active persons in the household, residence environment, family food consumption score, survival strategy adopted by the family and reduced coping strategy index. Policy sensitization targeting heads of family on food restriction, family income and women's education improvement, and nutritional education for women are key actions for complementary food choice for children.

The Applied Anthropology Degree Program at the Universidad Politécnica Salesiana: Features of the Applied Signature of Anthropological Wisdom from Its Historical Praxis

This article is framed within the field that studies anthropology through its institutions. Using the applied anthropology degree program at the Universidad Politécnica Salesiana in Ecuador as a case study, the article intends to show that the applied character of anthropology is a permanent, inherent, and necessary feature at every stage but especially in training. This work goes beyond the understanding of applied as a dispensable sub-discipline that embraces the function of solving problems that intertwine sociocultural diversity with development, education, health, and public policies, that is, the view that applied anthropology is one possibility among others but one which is possible to do without. The concrete experienced reviewed in this work shows distinctive elements, for example, the critical indigenism that conditioned the beginning of the applied anthropology program. As shown throughout this work, from the beginning, the program’s academic design valued anthropology as a set of conceptual and methodological resources capable of promoting intercultural processes, putting together activists’ networks, and shaping local wisdom, all the while upholding indigenous peoples’ and nationalities’ autonomies. The article prioritizes identifying traits that signify the applied dimension of anthropology based on the degree’s life and concrete academic praxis.1 Evidence emerges from archives, reflective essays on experience and, mainly, testimonials from alumni that fulfill an ideal criterion: activists and militants in indigenous territories or intercultural experiences. We conclude that what is applied is a necessary and inherent dimension of anthropological wisdom based on the assumption that “in-territory” training provides epistemic and pedagogical advantages relevant to the practice of anthropology.

Voyages in Applied and Activist Anthropology

Voyages in Applied and Activist Anthropology

CONAA Council on Nursing & Anthropology Abstracts, 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, March 22-26, 2022, Salt Lake City, UT

CONAA Council on Nursing & Anthropology Abstracts, 82nd Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, March 22-26, 2022, Salt Lake City, UT

Doing Unto Others: Applied Anthropology, Collaborative Research and Native Self-determination

This paper examines applied anthropology in relation to Native self-determination. Adherence to the principle of self-determination in research produces a fundamental shift from independent to collaborative research. The paper discusses Native people’s involvement in research design and the role of aboriginally defined policy in shaping the parameters of applied research.The research-policy nexus remains dominated by non-Native practitioners and bureaucrats employing inappropriate methodologies. Anthropologists can strengthen interdisciplinary research by advocating the use of participatory and other qualitative research techniques which Native people view as ‘culturally appropriate’.