Anthropological Research Research Articles

Ethnomulticultural dimensions in Osing literature of Banyuwangi: An analysis of Samar Wulu and Lintrik

This study explores the ethnomulticultural content in Osing literature, highlighting how it expresses the Osing ethnic identity through its unique characteristics and traditions. Through a qualitative-interpretative-anthropological method, this study examined data in the form of words, sentences, and paragraphs extracted from two short stories. The short stories under investigation included a short story entitled Samar Wulu (Dusk; the time when the Sun is about to set) by Andika Fitriyah and Lintrik (Love Spell) by Dyah Agustin Wulandari. In this literary anthropology research, the data in the two short stories were analyzed based on their ethnomulticultural content. The ethnomulticultural analysis explored cultural phenomena and traditions, which included worldviews and local wisdom. The researchers conducted a three-stage reading process of the short stories for the representation of Osing cultural content: receptive reading, repeated readings to gather data on ethno-multicultural elements, and interpretive reading using a literary anthropology approach to analyze the worldview and local wisdom of the Osing community. The results revealed the significant role rituals play in expressing Osing cultural identity. Rituals like Kebo-Keboan, for overcoming plagues, and Lintrik, for warding off misfortune, are deeply rooted in Osing society and reflect themes of magic and tragedy. These rituals embody the Osing worldview, where harmony between the micro and macro cosmos is essential. The presence of magical realism in these rituals affirms the local identity of the Osing people in postcolonial society. The findings suggest potential avenues for integrating cultural insights into pedagogical approaches at the junior high school level.

Arm Length and Height Relationship in Young Indian Adults: A Correlation and Regression Analysis

Abstract Introduction: Anthropometric studies on body proportions such as arm length (AL) and height (Ht) are essential for understanding physical growth patterns and health indicators, particularly amongst young adults. However, limited research exists on this relationship in the Indian population. Materials and Methods: This study examined the correlation and regression between AL and Ht in 500 healthy Indian adults aged 18–23 years. Standard anthropometric tools were used to measure AL and Ht, and statistical analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between these variables. Results: The results showed varying degrees of correlation between AL and Ht across different age groups and genders. Males generally exhibited higher AL to Ht ratios compared to females, with significant gender differences observed in younger age groups. Conclusion: These findings contribute to our understanding of human growth patterns amongst young Indian adults and have important implications for clinical assessments and anthropological research. Further, longitudinal studies are recommended to better understand the dynamics of growth and body proportions over time in this population.

Morphometric analysis of the skull base and palatal regions for gender identification using CBCT: a retrospective study.

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the accuracy of morphometry of skull base and palate in gender discrimination using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanning and to assess the accuracy of the results among a sample of the Arab population. Using CBCT scans, a cross-sectional analysis was conducted on 142 consented patients who underwent various dental procedures at the University Dental Hospital, Sharjah (UDHS). Of these patients, 70 were females and 72 were males, with respective means of 38.5 and 36.2 years. Eleven parameters related to skull base and palatal region were measured on the CBCT scans by two expert radiologists followed by statistical analysis. There was significant gender-based difference in the mean palatal width (PW) (p=0.001), mean palatal height (PH) (p=0.005). Among other skull base region parameters that were significant in term of gender-based difference like; the clivus length (CL) (p<0.001), occipital condyle height (OCH) (p<0.001), basal angle (BA) (p=0.006) and transverse diameter of foramen magnum (p=0.003). Only palate variables showed a significant age difference. Discriminant analysis related to gender showed that occipital condyle height was the most accurate and best discriminator among the skull base region parameters. The use of discriminant analysis in CBCT based on skull base and palatal region variables provides an efficient method for determining gender, which is particularly valuable in forensic science and anthropological research. Accurate gender identification is crucial in forensic investigations, and the skull base region, being a stable and sexually dimorphic anatomical feature, can serve as a reliable marker for this purpose.

Current and Future Applications of Genetic, Archaeological, and Ethnobotanical Data to Uncovering Avocado Domestication

The domestication of fruit trees is a topic of increasing significance in anthropological research. The avocado is a perennial fruit domesticated in Central America with a complex history of management and dispersal since the arrival of humans in the New World. Archaeological data illustrates the avocado’s domestication from wild to cultivar forms throughout the Holocene, while genetic and ethnobotanical evidence provide insights into ancient avocado cultivation patterns. It is only through the combined application of all three lines of evidence that we may fully understand the dynamic origins of this essential fruit.

New Pathway for Management Studies in China: Exploring Qualitative Research Methods of Business Anthropology

Through an inventory of the existing literature body on Chinese management studies, this paper attempts to present a critical review of the phenomenon that the management studies in contemporary China over-rely on quantitative research methodology. It endeavors to demonstrate that the nature of scientific research is to innovate by seeking truth and, therefore, should not be restricted by quantitative research methods. Improve the effectiveness of academic analyses, it suggests that the scholars in China need to positively adapt the anthropological methodologies to conduct management studies and enhance the process of the localization of management science in the country. It is designed to broaden the approaches toward Chinese management studies by introducing business anthropological methods to Chinese management scholars. It adopts a comparative and case study methodology to demonstrate the limitations of quantitative methods and illustrate the effectiveness of business anthropological approaches for management studies in the Chinese context. The existing literature body demonstrates that excessive quantitative research approaches are utilized in current management studies, while scholars in China primarily ignore the effectiveness of qualitative methods. The necessity for further understanding qualitative research methods in management studies has been recognized more recently by Chinese scholars. They tend to agree that qualitative and quantitative research methodologies are merely different approaches, while the results are the same. One of the compelling new paths to improving management studies and practices is to apply anthropological research methods so that management theory in China can better explain actual human responses and factors that influence their behaviors. Anthropology has always been employed for practical applications. In addition, anthropological methods can enlarge the approaches to management studies and widen the scope for scholars to conduct their research. The combination of anthropology and management will accelerate the localization of management studies and, accordingly, speed up the systematic establishment of Chinese management theory to promote management practices in modern China. Business anthropology is emerging among some outstanding qualitative research methods in Western management studies. On the other hand, China's management science community is still a little behind in this respect. This paper is a pilot study to elaborate on business anthropology and its contribution to specific areas in management studies, such as marketing management, product design, and entrepreneurship in the Chinese context.

Lectio praecursoria

A lectio præcursoria is a short presentation read out loud by a doctoral candidate at the start of a public thesis examination in Finland. It introduces the key points or central argument of the thesis in a way that should make the ensuing discussion between the examinee and the examiner apprehensible to the audience, many of whom may be unfamiliar with the candidate’s research or even anthropological research in general.

Llectio praecursoria

A lectio præcursoria is a short presentation read out loud by a doctoral candidate at the start of a public thesis examination in Finland. It introduces the key points or central argument of the thesis in a way that should make the ensuing discussion between the examinee and the examiner apprehensible to the audience, many of whom may be unfamiliar with the candidate’s research or even anthropological research in general.

Lectio Præcursoria

A lectio præcursoria is a short presentation read out loud by a doctoral candidate at the start of a public thesis examination in Finland. It introduces the key points or central argument of the thesis in a way that should make the ensuing discussion between the examinee and the examiner apprehensible to the audience, many of whom may be unfamiliar with the candidate’s research or even anthropological research in general.

Lectio præcursoria

A lectio præcursoria is a short presentation read out loud by a doctoral candidate at the start of a public thesis examination in Finland. It introduces the key points or central argument of the thesis in a way that should make the ensuing discussion between the examinee and the examiner apprehensible to the audience, many of whom may be unfamiliar with the candidate’s research or even anthropological research in general.

«Я никогда не думал, откуда берутся деньги»: Обзор школы-конференции «Прикладная антропология сегодня» (Нижний Новгород, 28 апреля — 4 мая 2023 года)

Conference reviews are usually dull: they are easy to write but tedious to read, and what was lively and dynamic in person often becomes less engaging in text. In the review below, we’ve tried to bring the event to life with videos and photos, capturing what was essentially a showcase of applied anthropological research being conducted in Russia in the 2020s. We will include links to studies and Telegram channels that, perhaps even more effectively than academic articles, demonstrate how applied sciences are evolving — from folklore studies and museum design to anthropology and sociology. During the event, the authors of these Telegram channels actively covered the proceedings, helping us capture the most important moments included in this review. We would like to extend our gratitude to Mikhail Alekseevsky, Dmitry Rogozin, and Oleg Bazaleev.

Infrastructure and the evolution of settlement space: a study from a spatial anthropological perspective on the Pearl River Delta

The complex system of the settlement space in China’s Pearl River Delta region has always featured infrastructure as a key medium to explore the evolution of the settlement space. Therefore, anthropological research on infrastructure has become an important dimension for researchers to in analyzing social and spatial issues in the Pearl River Delta region. This study explores the correlation mechanism between infrastructure and settlement space by referring to literature reviews and empirical cases, revealing the underlying political factors, economic factors, cultural factors, and complex social change process of the physical space through empirical case studies. It provides a theoretical research genealogy for exploring spatial evolution in addition to a research sample for analyzing social and cultural changes in the Pearl River Delta region. Moreover, it emphasizes the cognitive significance of historical context and has important implications for future urban development.

Moral Injury as a Precondition for Reconciliation: An Anthropology of Veterans’ Lives and Peacemaking

In this article, I rely on religious existential philosophy to make sense of the moral restoration expressed by combat veterans who engage in reconciliation with former enemies after suffering from moral injury. Moral injury is the persistent feeling of having betrayed one’s deepest moral values. Anthropological research and analyses of combat veterans’ testimony suggest that moral injury may be associated with reconciliation, which is considered here as a manifestation of an inner transformation akin to existential philosophies of striving for moral authenticity. Specifically, it is argued that Thomas Merton’s defense of living a morally authentic life, which constitutes a process of moving from spiritual woundedness to social engagement with the other, parallels the transition of combat veterans involved in postconflict reconciliation efforts. Given this correspondence, existential moral transformation is considered alongside the anthropology of peace for explaining moral injury as a precondition for reconciliation, notably after armed conflict.

Technical note: A biological anthropologist's guide for applying microbiome science to studies of human and non-human primates.

A central goal of biological anthropology is connecting environmental variation to differences in host physiology, biology, health, and evolution. The microbiome represents a valuable pathway for studying how variation in host environments impacts health outcomes. While there are many resources for learning about methods related to microbiome sample collection, laboratory analyses, and genetic sequencing, there are fewer dedicated to helping researchers navigate the dense portfolio of bioinformatics and statistical approaches for analyzing microbiome data. Those that do exist are rarely related to questions in biological anthropology and instead are often focused on human biomedicine. To address this gap, we expand on existing tutorials and provide a "road map" to aid biological anthropologists in understanding, selecting, and deploying the data analysis and visualization methods that are most appropriate for their specific research questions. Leveraging an existing dataset of fecal samples and survey data collected from wild geladas living in Simien Mountains National Park in Ethiopia (Baniel et al., 2021), this paper guides researchers toward answering three questions related to variation in the gut microbiome across host and environmental factors. By providing explanations, examples, and a reproducible workflow for different analytic methods, we move beyond the theoretical benefits of considering the microbiome within anthropological research and instead present researchers with a guide for applying microbiome science to their work. This paper makes microbiome science more accessible to biological anthropologists and paves the way for continued research into the microbiome's role in the ecology, evolution, and health of human and non-human primates.

Ethnomedical Study of Traditional Medicinal Plants for Cough and Tuberculosis (TB) of the Helong Tribe on Semau Island, Kupang Regency, East Nusa Tenggara

The Helong people in Kupang Regency, NTT Province, have experienced being exposed to cough and tuberculosis (TB). Therefore, it is believed that this community has also long since developed their local knowledge and traditional ways to prevent and treat the disease. In general, this study aims to analyze and find the concept of the Helong Tribe community and ethnomedical practices for the prevention and treatment of cough and tuberculosis (TB). This research is a medical anthropology research using a qualitative research method with an ethnographic approach, which is supported by laboratory research and literature studies. Field research was carried out on Semau Island, NTT Province, involving traditional medicine. The results of the research conducted in the form of interviews with traditional medicine practitioners in the Helong tribe obtained as many as 31 plants used in treatment, and there were 3 plants used to treat cough, including hemorrhagic cough/tuberculosis, namely plants: white banyan (Ficus benjamina L), mesocarp palm fruit (Borassus flabellifer L.) and white flower (Clerodendrum costatum R.Br). The three plants that are suspected to have the ability to treat cough and cough up blood carried out preliminary tests of antibacterial activity against bacteria that generally cause stones, namely Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. The results obtained for ethanol extract of white banyan leaves (Ficus benjamina L) with a concentration of 25% b/v with a diameter of 16.53 mm, 50% b/v with a diameter of 16.33 mm, and 75% b/v with a diameter of 16.56 mm. Mesocarp ethanol extract of palm fruit (Borassus flabellifer L.) At a concentration of 25% b/v with an inhibitory zone diameter of 11.60 mm, a concentration of 50% b/v with an inhibitory zone diameter of 12.30 mm, a concentration of 75% b/v with an inhibitory zone diameter of 13.40 mm, for white flowers (Clerodendrum costatum R.Br) at a concentration of 25%b/v with an inhibitory zone diameter of 9.41 mm, a concentration of 50% b/v of 10.36 mm and a concentration of 75% b/v of 11.24 mm. This means that the three plants have antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Furthermore, for the antibacterial activity test against Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria for white banyan plants (Ficus benjamina L.), mesocarp of palm fruit (Borassus flabellifer L.), and white flowers (Clerodendrum costatum R.Br) by the MODS (Microscopically Observed Drug Susceptibility) method, it was obtained that the three plants at concentrations of 250 ppm, 500 ppm, and 1000 ppm were only seen to have the growth of Micobacterium tuberculosis bacteria in the second week. Passive control with INH observation until week IV did not see any bacterial growth, while for negative control in the first week, the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria was seen. It can be concluded that a concentration greater than 1000 ppm is needed for the three plants to inhibit the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria.

Anthropology at speed, at scale, in action: The CommuniVax example

AbstractThis special issue presents accounts of different aspects of the CommuniVax Coalition and its work—a project that conducted rapid, multisited, applied anthropological research to deliver guidance during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Our purpose in writing these articles is to provide details of our work so anthropologists interested in similar types of research can learn from our efforts. While anthropological research has been, and largely still is, an endeavor of individuals at a relatively slow pace, the future of the discipline, and especially of anthropologists working outside traditional academia, is team‐based, rapid research. As such, anthropologists need to know how to conduct research at speed, participate as members of research teams and, more importantly, how to organize and lead teams to conduct timely, collaborative, focused, and practical research.

Academic librarians’ Twitter practices and the production of knowledge infrastructures in higher education

This short paper describes the use of infrastructural theory to interrogate data gathered for an ongoing study on the Twitter practices of academic librarians at one research-intensive university in the United Kingdom. In tandem with wider changes in networked technologies and ways of producing scholarship, academic librarians’ roles have shifted increasingly to knowledge production, particularly in the area of research support. A related shift has been academic librarians’ adoption of social media, particularly Twitter, to disseminate information and encourage community and collaboration. The few existing studies of librarians’ Twitter practices, however, frame such activity as service promotion, overlooking the relationship between technology and professional practice entwined and concomitant social effects in the university. The theoretical framework devised for this study was woven from research in anthropology and Science and Technology Studies about the nature of infrastructure. Instead of viewing infrastructure as separate and monolithic substrates supporting the circulation of goods and information, such theory posits infrastructure as relational and contingent, constituted of political decisions and having broad and co[1]constitutive social effects on knowledge, subjectivities and agencies (Jensen &amp; Morita, 2017). The study’s theoretical framework particularly draws on the notion of knowledge infrastructures defined as “networks of people, artifacts, and institutions that generate, share, and maintain specific knowledge about the human and natural worlds” (Edwards, 2010). The framework therefore emphasises the invisible labour of infrastructure — often dubbed infrastructuring — and related socio-political practices of design and maintenance that embody promises for the future (Larkin, 2018). In this picture, infrastructure is fragile and contingent, shaped by its installed base, and remarkably complicated, unfixed and open to contestation. Based on preliminary findings, the study argues that academic librarians' Twitter practices constitute knowledge infrastructures in higher education. Using an infrastructural framework helped foreground the material conditions of librarians’ knowledge production in terms of entanglements of technology and professional values, shifts in professional subjectivities and performative effects within the university. A tentative implication for studies of technology and learning is that, by insisting that infrastructure and social activity are intertwined, learners and teachers are not framed in opposition to infrastructure and are thus better able to contest totalising narratives surrounding infrastructural learning technologies such as VLEs or MOOCs. In this picture, therefore, infrastructure is not simplistically background bulwark or sinister force. Appreciating the invisible labour involved in creating and sustaining infrastructure is therefore important for understanding contemporary learning contexts.

Village Self-Government in the Period 1944-1955 in an Anthropological Perspective: The Example of the Village of Dobri Do

Rural self-government is an insufficiently researched topic in domestic and foreign anthropological literature. What is more, the extent to which archives of local self-government bodies can be useful as sources for anthropological research has not been sufficiently studied. For this reason, an attempt was made to provide a contribution to a better understanding of these scientific issues on the example of the village of Dobri Do in the vicinity of Pirot, and on the basis of material in the Historical Archive of Pirot that refers to the work of the Local People's Committee in this village. The period after the Second World War was chosen, due to the state of the materials in the archival collections and the fact that the period was marked by numerous processes that highlighted scientific problems more clearly. It started from the assumption that the local self-government, as a mediator between the rural community and state authorities, was primarily directed towards protecting the interests of the rural community itself. The analysis showed that MNO archives can be very useful sources, and that they can be combined with classical anthropological research methods (participant observation, interview, biographical method). Nevertheless, a critical attitude must be taken towards this archival material, because it is incomplete, insufficiently conscientiously collected and organized. Based on the available material, it is possible to see many questions that have not been raised so far about the relationship between the local community and state institutions. Further research will show to what extent it is possible to improve the use of this material within ethnological and anthropological research.

Constitution of the "Kolo" Ensemble and Choreography of Traditional Dance – Anthropological Interpretation and Socio-Political Context

The Ensemble of Folk Dances and Songs of Serbia "Kolo" was founded in 1948 in Belgrade, on the initiative of the Committee for Culture and Art of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. The task of the Ensemble was to artistically interpret and present the so-called folk artistic creativity, which predominantly encompassed various folklore creations of the rural population, on stage, in the country and abroad. Although seemingly simple and folk-oriented, the art of traditional dance choreography has clear ideological and politically important messages of the then state leadership embedded in it foundations, intended to be spread among the Yugoslavs, but also beyond the state borders. The ensemble was supposed to present a desirable and appropriate image of Yugoslavia in its performances. The aim of this paper is to reconstruct the formation of the “Kolo” Ensemble and the process of constituting the art of traditional dance choreography, taking into account the socio-political and historical context of the Second Yugoslavia. In addition, the paper approaches the deconstruction of the intention of choreographers and artistic directors, in order to reveal the ideological messages embedded in the artistic expression. The basic assumption in this paper is that dance troupes and traditional dance choreographies are strongly connected to the ideology and cultural policy of the nation-state. In this regard, even when choreographers and artistic directors create programs without direct political-ideological objectives, their decisions always rely on the socio-political context and the dominant ideologies within the state. The theoretical framework of the work is based on contemporary anthropological discussions about the concepts crucial for the interpretation of the material, primarily referring to the concept of ideology, understood in the Althusserian sense, but also to the ideas of the combination of state ideology, cultural policy, and dance with the aim of presenting the dance troupe with a desirable image of the nation-state. The methodology of the work consists of a combination of two approaches: classical anthropological, qualitative and archival research. Qualitative research includes conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 15 dancers who worked in "Kolo" in different time contexts, while archival research included reviewing the documentation of the "Kolo" Ensemble, the Archives of Yugoslavia and the personal and family archives of the dancers.

Selective Abortions in Montenegro: Legal and Anthropological Analysis

In the old Montenegrin masculine patriarchal culture, having children was one of the primary motivations for marriage. Women in labour faced significant community pressure to give birth to a male child, as evidenced by various ethnographic records and confirmed by contemporary anthropological research. Montenegro exhibits one of the most unbalanced ratios of newborn male to female babies among countries. This necessitates an analysis that integrates legal and anthropological perspectives on son preference. The article explores the socio-historical circumstances and modern expressions of the cult of the male child, followed by an examination of the legal implications of selective abortions. The legal dimension of abortion encompasses a broad normative framework, with the fundamental question concerning the boundary of legal protection in this area, i.e., the limit of state intervention in the personal sphere of individuals and citizens. The legal analysis will also include a reflection on the impact of criminal legal protection on this debate, particularly through the lens of the criminal offense of unlawful termination of pregnancy as stipulated in Article 150 of the Criminal Code of Montenegro. Considering the scope of rights to life, family, and reproduction, and recognizing that pregnancy termination motivated by sex selection is generally prohibited, yet this practice is widespread, the assumption is that the formal legal means to address this issue are limited. As this is a societal phenomenon involving sensitive legal, personal, cultural, religious, political, social, and moral issues, the paper discusses approaches for combating this practice.

Age estimation using medial clavicle by histomorphometry method with artificial intelligence: A review.

This review research critically assesses the evolving landscape of age estimation methodologies, with a particular focus on the innovative integration of histomorphometry and artificial intelligence (AI) in the analysis of the medial clavicle. The medial clavicle emerges as a crucial skeletal feature for predicting age, offering valuable insights into the morphological changes occurring throughout an individual's lifespan. Through an in-depth exploration of histological complexities, including variations in osteons, trabecular structures, and cortical thickness, this review elucidates their utility as viable indicators for age-related evaluations. This framework is augmented by the incorporation of AI technology, which enables automatic picture identification, feature extraction, and complicated pattern analysis. Our review of previous research highlights the promise of AI in improving prediction models for nuanced age estimates, highlighting the importance of large-scale, diversified datasets and thorough cross-validation. This thorough study, which addresses ethical concerns as well as the influence of population-specific characteristics, moves the debate around age estimate ahead, presenting insights with consequences for forensic anthropology, clinical diagnoses, and future research avenues.