Mainstream Western Research Articles

New Mass Communication Media and the Identity of Negev Bedouin Arab Youth in Israel: In Conversation with Edward Said

Mass communication media technologies influence the structuring of reality, consolidation of value systems, and construction of common social denominators, and thus contribute to the formation of personal and national identities. While, as Edward Said has shown, mainstream Western (including Israeli) media have been dominated by Orientalist, anti-Arab/anti-Islamic perspectives, new media technologies have opened up a broad range of media options lying beyond the reach of Western media's hegemonic presentations. This article explores the use of new mass communication media technologies and their association with identity formation in connection with Bedouin Arab high schools in the Negev, Israel. The findings of this research indicate that Negev Bedouin Arab youth developed diversified patterns of mass media consumption. They also show a preference for Arab media sources. Media consumption patterns are related to their national and civic identities. The findings also indicate that Bedouin Arab youth have a stronger Palestinian national identity than Israeli civic identity.

Participation in Practice: A Case Study of a Collaborative Project on Sexual Offences in South Africa

In this article we critically reflect on ‘feminist research methods’ and ‘methodology’, from the perspective of a feminist research unit at a South African university, that explicitly aims to improve gender-based violence service provision and policy through evidence-based advocacy. Despite working within a complex and inequitable developing country context, where our feminist praxis is frequently pitted against seemingly intractable structural realities, it is a praxis that remains grounded in documenting the stories of vulnerable individuals and within a broader political project of working towards improving the systems that these individuals must navigate under challenging social and structural conditions. We primarily do this by working with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) providing gender-based violence services in research conceptualisation, design and implementation. This raises unique and complex questions for feminist participatory research, which we illustrate through a case study of collaborative, participatory research with NGOs to improve health and criminal justice outcomes for survivors of sexual violence. Issues include the possibility of good intentions/good research designs failing; the suitability of participatory research in sensitive service provision contexts; the degree(s) of engagement between researchers, service providers (collaborators/participants) and research participants; as well as our ethical duties to do no harm and to promote positive, progressive change through personal narratives and other forms of evidence. Given the demands of our context and these core issues, we not only argue that there are no ‘feminist methods’, but also caution against the notion of a universal ‘feminist methodology’. Whilst we may all be in agreement about the centrality of gender to our research and analysis, the fundamental aims and assumptions of mainstream (Western) feminist approaches do not hold true in all contexts, nor are they without variance in mode, ideal degrees of participation and importance to social context.

Integrating acupuncture: are there positive health outcomes for women?

The key health issues for women tend to be primarily associated with the female reproductive system. There are also other gender priorities and consequences associated with ageing, which require effective interventions. Acupuncture is used worldwide and its evidence base is increasing on both mechanisms of action and its effectiveness in clinical care. Although acupuncture may be a valuable addition to healthcare for some conditions, it is rarely fully integrated into mainstream Western medicine clinical practice. Inadequate design and poor reporting of clinical trials have been barriers. Additionally systematic reviews and meta-analyses have tended to be equivocal and have reported that there is insufficient evidence for its recommendation. Future research should focus on ensuring good trial design including cost effectiveness and qualitative data and using a more pragmatic stance which reflects acupuncture in clinical practice. Undoubtedly, effective interventions are always needed to ensure the best health outcomes and address preventable deaths, morbidities, and disabilities among women but integration will be compromised unless underpinned by good evidence.

Chinese and Western Philosophical and Ethical Perspectives: Différance Rather Than Incommensurability or Sameness

AbstractThis experimental article claims that relatively recent trends in Western philosophy provide a much more open approach to philosophies originating in nonwestern traditions, including the Chinese, than found in most mainstream Western philosophy. More specifically, I argue that a slightly modified version of Jacques Derrida's concept of différance offers a hermeneutic parallel to native Chinese philosophical approaches to interpretation. These converge in the view that Western and Chinese philosophies cannot be reduced to the other in conceptual terms and that a finalized meaning or interpretation of each is a priori unattainable, thus providing a future opening for – and even integration of – a Chinese-Western dialogue in global philosophy and ethics.

Walking in Two Worlds

This phenomenological study sought to reveal the meaning for and experience of individuals who navigate two often-disparate ideological and experiential “worlds” within the culture of the United States. These two worlds can be described, respectively, as animistic—being embedded in and giving priority to relationship and nature—and Western mainstream—being embedded in and giving priority to materialism and rationalism. The phenomenon examined was—functioning within the mainstream culture while experiencing an animistic lifeworld. The animistic worldview is at odds in significant ways with the belief systems underlying the prevailing worldview, and is often misunderstood and demeaned. Six participants and the researcher participated in this qualitative study. The interviews were semistructured and open-ended. Through analysis, the underlying constituents and essential structure of the experience emerged. Constituents were (a) the experience of social stigma, (b) a deeply relational way of being-in-the-world, and (c) an expansive sense of identity. An experience of both belonging and alienation emerged—the true self-world remains concealed behind a “veil” or “mask” for the person’s protection in mainstream culture. Further research, particularly to benefit clinicians and clients, is needed to expand understanding of these dynamics which so affect people who walk in two worlds.

Media and Communication in the Chinese Diaspora: Rethinking Transnationalism, edited by Wanning Sun and John Sinclair. London: Routledge, 2016. xvi + 229 pp. £95.00 (cloth); also available as an eBook.

<i>Media and Communication in the Chinese Diaspora: Rethinking Transnationalism</i>, edited by Wanning Sun and John Sinclair. London: Routledge, 2016. xvi + 229 pp. £95.00 (cloth); also available as an eBook.

Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in cancer patients: An Italian multicenter survey

IntroductionComplementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) include a wide range of products (herbs, vitamins, minerals, and probiotics) and medical practices, developed outside of the mainstream Western medicine. Patients with cancer are more likely to resort to CAM first or then in their disease history; the potential side effects as well as the costs of such practices are largely underestimated.Patients and methodWe conducted a descriptive survey in five Italian hospitals involving 468 patients with different malignancies. The survey consisted of a forty-two question questionnaire, patients were eligible if they were Italian-speaking and receiving an anticancer treatment at the time of the survey or had received an anticancer treatment no more than three years before participating in the survey.RESULTSOf our patients, 48.9% said they use or have recently used CAM. The univariate analysis showed that female gender, high education, receiving treatment in a highly specialized institute and receiving chemotherapy are associated with CAM use; at the multivariate analysis high education (Odds Ratio, (OR): 1.96 95% Confidence Interval, CI, 1.27-3.05) and receiving treatment in a specialized cancer center (OR: 2.75 95% CI, 1.53-4.94) were confirmed as risk factors for CAM use.ConclusionRoughly half of our patients receiving treatment for cancer use CAM. It is necessary that health professional explore the use of CAM with their cancer patients, educate them about potentially beneficial therapies in light of the limited available evidence of effectiveness, and work towards an integrated model of health-care provision.

Empowering Disgust: Redefining Alternative Postpartum Placenta Practices

ABSTRACTThis article examines communication practices surrounding the unconventional yet emerging trend of postpartum placenta use: eating, encapsulating, or burying the human placenta. Through interviews with both supporters and nonsupporters of postpartum placenta practices, we explore conceptualizations of placenta consumption and burial within larger mothering, childbirth, and postpartum rhetorics. We argue that placenta practices function rhetorically within a core frame of disgust, which both supporters and nonsupporters initially use to respond to placenta use. Yet supporters rearticulate the literal meaning of disgust to create an empowering rhetorical frame from which to view placenta practices and motherhood. In effect, supporters reframe the meaning of disgust toward the mainstream Western medicalization of birth in order to position placenta practices, natural childbirth, and mothering as empowering.

Erectile dysfunction treatment and traditional medicine-can East and West medicine coexist?

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common sexual problem affecting many men irrespective of cultures, beliefs and nationalities. While medical therapy for ED has been revolutionized by the advent of oral phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors and intracavernosal injection of vasoactive agents, recent technological advances such stem cell therapy, low intensity shock wave and newer generation of penile prosthesis implant offer hope to men who do not respond to conventional medical therapy. In contrast, traditional and complementary medicine (TCM) focuses on the restoration and better overall bodily regulation with the use of various herbal and animal products as well as exercises to invigorate qi (energy) in vital organs. Western medicine involves an analysis of ED symptom and underlying causes that contribute to ED, while TCM emphases the concept of holism and harmonization of body organs to achieve natural sexual life. The following article reviews our current understanding regarding the philosophical approach, and evaluates the evidence surrounding various ED therapies between mainstream Western Medicine and TCM.

The Spectacle of a Good Half‐Widow: Women in Search of their Disappeared Men in the Kashmir Valley

After militancy for self‐determination and Independence started in 1989 in the Kashmir Valley, more than eight thousand Kashmiri men have been subjected to enforced disappearance by the Indian Army. In 1994 the Association of Parents of the Disappeared Persons (APDP), a female‐dominated movement, began to search for these disappeared men. In this article, I trace the everyday agency and activism of an APDP activist amid the entrenched militarization of Kashmir. In mainstream Western feminist understanding, gendered agency is often seen as aggressive and openly subversive. In this analysis, agency emerges as more nuanced than, and thus different from, a simple notion of confrontational resistance to oppression. I use the Foucauldian paradigm of micropolitics, specifically focusing on its biopolitical aspect, to ethnographically illustrate how a particular APDP activist performs and sustains her public activism. By theorizing the Kashmiri language's term Asal Zanan, which translates as “a good woman,” I illustrate how a finer understanding of agency emerges, which may not only appear in stereotypical and confrontational forms but also with deeply contextual and cultural nuances.

The “Arab Spring” and Orientalist Stereotypes: The Role of Orientalism in the Narration of the Revolts in the Arab World

The recent protests and revolts in many Arab countries have been generally interpreted in the West as one popular and democratic “Arab” movement against tyranny, which as such has been called the “Arab Spring” or “Arab Revolution” and has been supported, in some cases, by military intervention. It can be shown, however, that this interpretation is a striking example of the persistence of “Orientalism” (according to Edward Said’s definition). It is built by stereotypes and abstractions about Arab countries, such as the images of “Arabs” in general and of “Oriental despotism”, and rests on an ethnocentric approach because it adopts western “modernity”, with its peak represented by democracy as the measure of progress. The presence of Orientalist features in the western mainstream interpretation of the “Arab Spring” is a very important issue because this interpretation undermines its reliability and shows the necessity of developing more accurate knowledge of Arab countries and of their relationships with the West.

The post-colonial novels of Desmond Stewart and Ethel Mannin

In presenting their characters and political ideologies, Desmond Stewart (1924–81) and Ethel Mannin (1900–84) are both unique among British fiction writers because they offered different portrayals of the post-colonial Arab world than what was mostly found in Western mainstream writings. While Stewart discussed the postcolonial era in Iraq by focusing on pan-Arab national movements that rejected the British hegemony during the monarchical period, Mannin focused on the postcolonial era which followed the British occupation and was represented in the Palestinian national movements. This paper argues that Stewart and Mannin offered a more complex and diverse view of the Arab world that was far different from many other stereotypical fictional depictions. It deals more in depth with the following novels: Stewart’s Leopard in the Grass (London: W. J. Pollock, 1951) and A Stranger in Eden or The Unsuitable Englishman (New York: Signet, 1954), as well as Mannin’s The Road to Beersheba (Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1963) and The Night and Its Homing (London: Hutchinson, 1966).

The Global Imaginary of Arab Hip Hop: a case study

Hip Hop is a complex cultural and musical phenomenon resulting from the interactions between globalization and localization processes. Hip Hop artists operating in different locations – and often moving between multiple localities – appropriate and (re)interpret the genre on the basis of local musical and cultural traditions while defining their identities as artists and more often than not as political activists. English as a Lingua Franca (ELF), combined with other languages, is the common code shared by Hip Hop artists throughout the world, while translation, both in its traditional function and in a broad sense, is intrinsic to Hip Hop as a political site allowing local expressions to connect at a global level. Drawing on translation and globalization studies, and applying the notion of prefigurative politics, I will show how Hip Hop music aims to create its own imaginary to give voice to people of all cultures beyond geopolitical boundaries. More specifically, diasporic Arab Hip Hop artists, such as the Syrian- American Omar Offendum and the Iraqi-Canadian Narcycist, among others, aim to subvert the representation of Arabs as terrorists codified in mainstream Western discourses. They construct their identities as global citizens and activists through songs and videos such as Fear of an Arab Planet, a play on the title of legendary Hip Hop group Public Enemy‘s Fear of a Black Planet, and a parody of Western images of Arab people.. Most important of all, they adopt a series of prefigurative strategies to create alternative imaginaries and to put into practice principles of peace and justice in the here and now rather than in an ideal future. An analysis of Hip Hop global imaginary from an interdisciplinary perspective can shed a new light on the role of art activism in challenging mainstream imaginaries and social and political practices.

The Psychology and Content of Dreaming in Africa

As understood in mainstream Western psychology, people dream for themselves and are essentially self-contained in their overall mechanism of dreaming. This article argues that although this Eurocentric perspective on dreaming is largely universal and not to be ignored, it needs to be recognized alongside other dream perspectives. The article examines the concept of dreaming from an African perspective. Its aim is to demonstrate that dreaming from an African psychological perspective goes beyond the Eurocentric paradigm suggesting that in the African-centered paradigm, the individual can dream for others. In the African perspective, there, at times, occurs the phenomenon of triangulation in dreaming where dreams originate from another source to give messages to the individual for the benefit of others. The article presents three anecdotes and some resulting implications that highlight descriptive elements of African dream theory. A number of questions for further reflections and research emanating from the discussion are highlighted.

Cross-functional conflicts, effectiveness, and innovation performance: A symbiotic approach

Although cross-functional conflicts occur among departments, empirical research on the inherent mechanism remains scant. As conflict appears to be an element in innovation, by using a symbiotic approach combining traditional Confucian values and mainstream Western theories, this study of 135 Chinese high-tech companies investigates how various cross-functional conflict types influence cross-functional effectiveness, which in turn influences innovation performance. Results show an inverted U-shaped relationship for cross-functional task conflict and a negative relationship for cross-functional relationships on cross-functional effectiveness and innovation performance. Cross-functional effectiveness has a complementary mediation effect on the relationship between cross-functional task conflicts and innovation performance, and an indirect mediation effect on the relationship between cross-functional relationship conflicts and innovation performance. Trust moderates the relationship between cross-functional task conflict and cross-functional effectiveness, demonstrating a U-shaped relationship. Results are inconclusive about trust’s moderating effect between relationship conflict and cross-functional effectiveness. This study offers executives new guidelines for managing conflict and trust to improve their high-tech firm’s innovation climate.

Challenges in the Ethical Review of Research Involving Complementary and Integrative Medicine.

Complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) involves using practices outside mainstream Western medicine, often derived from Eastern traditional medicine, and combining those practices with Western medicine. Conducting CIM research that is necessary to determine whether particular interventions are beneficial and safe will involve a set of ethical challenges. Institutional review boards (IRBs), also known as research ethics committees or research ethics boards, are responsible for determining that research studies involving human subjects appropriately address ethical and regulatory concerns inherent to the research. Like other research with human subjects, research involving CIM is subject to ethical review and ongoing oversight by an IRB. IRBs are often challenged by the review of CIM. These challenges include accounting for cultural differences and the interests of competing stakeholders. In this report, we describe these issues that were the focus of a workshop that was part of an international conference held in Seoul, Korea, on April 4, 2015.

Geopolitics of search: Google versus China?

This article focuses on the case of Google, the newly emerged US Internet industry and global geographical market expansion. Google’s struggles in China, where Chinese domestic Internet firm, Baidu, controls the market, have been commonly presented in the Western mainstream media in terms of a struggle over a strategic information infrastructure between two nation states – newly ‘emerging’ global power China countering the United States, the world’s current hegemon and information empire. Is China really becoming an imperial rival to the United States? What is the nature of this opposition over this new industry? Given that the search engine industry in China is heavily backed by transnational capital – and in particular US capital – and is experiencing intense inter-capitalist competition, this perceived view of inter-state rivalry is incomplete and misleading. By looking at the tussle over the global search business, this article seeks to illuminate the changing dynamics of the US-led transnationalizing capitalism in the context of China’s reintegration into the global capitalist market.

The Changing Landscape of Online Pornography: Translocal Networks and Transcultural Practices

Pornography's massive growth online in the last 25 years, and the emergence of technologies such as broadband, webcams and smartphones, has led to fundamental changes in the ways people encounter, consume, and relate to online porn. Pornography has undoubtedly infiltrated the Western mainstream; it is now woven into the fabric of ordinary life and everyday online multitasking. The ways porn is accessed and consumed continue to evolve, keeping pace with broader changes in Web use. While there is much work being done in contemporary porn studies which examines these changes, there is an aspect of porn's evolution online that has for the most part been neglected: the ways it is linked to globalization and the spread of ideas across nations and borders. Processes of globalization, the Internet, and developing media technologies have facilitated global access to pornography. Pornography now moves across geographic space, transcends national borders and links global communities – spreading narratives, norms, and social texts across global contexts. Despite these changes, contemporary porn studies has, for the most part, remained insulated from the theoretical work coking out of transnational studies. Conversely, transnational theory—as well as the theoretical positions developing out of transnational theory, such as translocal and transcultural theory—has all but ignored pornography as one of the flows of information that increasingly moves between and connects global spaces, and that has specific impacts on relations of intimacy, sexuality and desire. This paper explores how, when taken together, each of these approaches has the potential to broaden the scope of the other, and potentially answer some important questions around the ways globalization is impacting sexualities.

‘They daren’t tell people’: therapists’ experiences of working with clients who report anomalous experiences

Objectives. This study explored the experiences of therapists who have worked with clients reporting anomalous experiences (AEs) to consider how they addressed such issues in therapy sessions. An AE is defined as ‘an uncommon experience (e.g. synesthesia) or one that, although it may be experienced by a significant number of persons (e.g. psi experiences), is believed to deviate from ordinary experience or from the usually accepted explanations of reality according to Western mainstream science’. Method. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with eight therapists who had worked with at least one client who had reported an AE in therapy. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted on transcripts. Results. Four themes were derived from participants’ data, which were labelled using short participant extracts: ‘Testing the waters’, ‘Exploration not explanation’, ‘It’s special but it’s not unique’ and ‘Forewarned and forearmed’. Conclusions. Participants felt that clients were apprehensive about disclosure of AEs due to fears about how AEs might be interpreted. Findings highlight the importance of therapists exploring the meaning of AEs with clients, rather than imposing an explanation and having access to accurate and reliable information about AEs.

How Do Theories of Cognition and Consciousness in Ancient Indian Thought Systems Relate to Current Western Theorizing and Research?

Unknown to most Western psychologists, ancient Indian scriptures contain very rich, empirically derived psychological theories that are, however, intertwined with religious and philosophical content. This article represents our attempt to extract the psychological theory of cognition and consciousness from a prominent ancient Indian thought system: Samkhya-Yoga. We derive rather broad hypotheses from this approach that may complement and extend Western mainstream theorizing. These hypotheses address an ancient personality theory, the effects of practicing the applied part of Samkhya-Yoga on normal and extraordinary cognition, as well as different ways of perceiving reality. We summarize empirical evidence collected (mostly without reference to the Indian thought system) in diverse fields of research that allows for making judgments about the hypotheses, and suggest more specific hypotheses to be examined in future research. We conclude that the existing evidence for the (broad) hypotheses is substantial but that there are still considerable gaps in theory and research to be filled. Theories of cognition contained in the ancient Indian systems have the potential to modify and complement existing Western mainstream accounts of cognition. In particular, they might serve as a basis for arriving at more comprehensive theories for several research areas that, so far, lack strong theoretical grounding, such as meditation research or research on aspects of consciousness.