Sexually-transmitted disease risk in a Micronesian atoll population

The potential health threat of AIDS to the native island-based populations in the Pacific is now widely appreciated by those working in the public-health sector throughout the region. Although several countries in the region are yet to identify any cases of AIDS or HIV seropositivity, there is reason to suspect that heterosexual contact may emerge as a predominant mode of spread of HIV infection into native Pacific island populations. Sexual networks and their relationship to potentially ‘risky behaviours’ are described for a single native Micronesian atoll community on the basis of ethnographic observation and interviewing. This description is combined with the investigation of historic-demographic dimensions of the epidemiology of sexually-transmitted diseases in the same population to draw some conclusions about the opportunities for HIV transmission and acquisition among the sexually-active portions of this community. Although sexually-transmitted diseases have not had an appreciable epidemiological or demographic impact on the population in the past, the sexual networks within the community and beyond provide ample opportunity for the introduction and spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and its sequel AIDS

Household water containers: Mitigating risks for improved Modular, Adaptive, and Decentralized (MAD) water systems

While the literature on the design and operation of safe water sources in low-income communities is huge, little attention has been paid to the design of systems for the safe transportation and storage of water by households between source and point of use. The design of water containers like the near-ubiquitous “jerry can” in relation to how they are used and the potential risks incurred has received little attention. This is despite, as we explain, the strong influence that water container design has on hazards associated with fetching and storing water. This paper advances the argument that MAD (“modular, adaptive and decentralised”) approaches to rethinking water containers are possible and points to examples that have been trialled in different locations around the world. Placed in a broader theoretical framework, the objects that are used as water containers can even be viewed as “engines of history” through which human communities interact with the (water) environment and can create off-grid infrastructures. Key suggestions for design improvement include recognizing the role of water containers in heterogenous networks and in wider socio-technical systems that can reinforce marginalization, and the critical need for localized, community-collaborative co-production

Water sharing is a distressing form of reciprocity: Shame, upset, anger, and conflict over water in twenty cross-cultural sites

Anthropological theories of reciprocity suggest it enhances prestige, social solidarity, and material security. Yet, some ethnographic cases suggest that water sharing—a form of reciprocity newly gaining scholarly attention—might work in the opposite way, increasing conflict and emotional distress. Using cross-cultural survey data from twenty global sites (n = 4,267), we test how household water reciprocity (giving and receiving) is associated with negative emotional and social outcomes. Participation in water sharing as both givers and receivers is consistently associated with greater odds of reporting shame, upset, and conflict over water. Water sharing experiences in a large, diverse sample confirm a lack of alignment with predictions of classic reciprocity theories. Recent ethnographic research on reciprocity in contexts of deepening contemporary poverty will allow development of ethnographically informed theories to better explain negative experiences tied to water reciprocity

Metatheme Analysis: A Qualitative Method for Cross-Cultural Research

In recent years, there has been a florescence of cross-cultural research using ethnographic and qualitative data. This cutting-edge work confronts a range of significant methodological challenges, but has not yet addressed how thematic analysis can be modified for use in cross-cultural ethnography. Thematic analysis is widely used in qualitative and mixed-methods research, yet is not currently well-adapted to cross-cultural ethnographic designs. We build on existing thematic analysis techniques to discuss a method to inductively identify metathemes (defined here as themes that occur across cultures). Identifying metathemes in crosscultural research is important because metathemes enable researchers to use systematic comparisons to identify significant patterns in cross-cultural datasets and to describe those patterns in rich, contextually-specific ways. We demonstrate this method with data from a collaborative cross-cultural ethnographic research project (exploring weight-related stigma) that used the same sampling frame, interview protocol, and analytic process in four cross-cultural research sites in Samoa, Paraguay, Japan, and the United States. Detecting metathemes that transcend data collected in different languages, cultures, and sites, we discuss the benefits and challenges of qualitative metatheme analysis

Coding Qualitative Data at Scale: Guidance for Large Coder Teams Based on 18 Studies

We outline a process for using large coder teams (10 + coders) to code large-scale qualitative data sets. The process reflects experience recruiting and managing large teams of novice and trainee coders for 18 projects in the last decade, each engaging a coding team of 12 (minimum) to 54 (maximum) coders. We identify four unique challenges to large coder teams that are not presently discussed in the methodological literature: (1) recruiting and training coders, (2) providing coder compensation and incentives, (3) maintaining data quality and ensuring coding reliability at scale, and (4) building team cohesion and morale. For each challenge, we provide associated guidance. We conclude with a discussion of advantages and disadvantages of large coder teams for qualitative research and provide notes of caution for anyone considering hiring and/or managing large coder teams for research (whether in academia, government and non-profit sectors, or industry)

Effectiveness of online social science undergraduate research experiences: Exploratory evidence

Undergraduate research experience (UREs) benefit students, but are typically conducted in person. In 2020–2021, many research and teaching activities unexpectedly moved into virtual spaces. We identify key benefits and challenges experienced by virtual URE participants in the social sciences, based on systematic coding of aligned surveys with both faculty and students. Perceived benefits included access and flexibility. Both mentors and students who had switched from in-person modalities, however, expressed a perceived loss of community, undermining the perceived effectiveness and value of the URE. They also perceived the lack of “hands-on work” as a negative. In contrast, existing online students identified UREs as creating a much needed and valued connection, enhancing their experiences. We suggest the experience of all participants in virtual UREs can benefit from centralizing community-building strategies, and give some possible examples

Connecting the dots between climate change, household water insecurity, and migration

Climate change is now considered a primary global driver of migration, with water insecurity theorized to be a key determinant. Most studies have focused on large-scale climate migration events triggered by extreme weather events such as droughts, storms, or floods. But there are few studies of how climate change shapes the everyday household-level experience of water insecurity and subsequent migration decision-making, beyond the contexts of disasters and agricultural livelihoods—an invisible ‘slow drip’ of migration. This review proposes a complementary, alternative framework for linking climate change, household-level water insecurity, and environmental migration by positioning household water insecurity as a critical pathway for shaping migration decision-making in the context of socio-environmental change. We present evidence that household water insecurity is a push factor that motivates household members to migrate due to water-related disruptions to physical and mental health, livelihoods beyond agriculture, and social relationships. We close with implications for anti-poverty and development initiatives, and for water interventions to mitigate forced climate migration

Teaching Ethnographic Methods for Cultural Anthropology: Current Practices and Needed Innovation

Historically, ethnographic methods were learned by cultural anthropology students in individual research projects. This approach creates challenges for teaching in ways that respond to the next generation’s calls to decenter anthropology’s White, heteropatriarchal voices and engage in collaborative community-based research. Analyzing syllabi from 107 ethnographic methods training courses from the United States, we find the tradition of the “lone researcher” persists and is the basis of ethnographic training for the next generation. There is little evidence of either active reflection or team-based pedagogy, both identified as necessary to meet career opportunities and diversification goals for the wider field of cultural anthropology. However, we also find that, by centering the completion of largely individual research projects, most ethnographic methods courses otherwise adhere to best practices in regard to experiential and active learning. Based on the analysis of syllabi in combination with current pedagogical literature, we suggest how cultural anthropologists can revise their ethnographic methods courses to incorporate pedagogy that promotes methodologies and skills to align with the needs of today’s students and communities

Exposing the myths of household water insecurity in the global north: A critical review

Safe and secure water is a cornerstone of modern life in the global North. This article critically examines a set of prevalent myths about household water in high-income countries, with a focus on Canada and the United States. Taking a relational approach, we argue that household water insecurity is a product of institutionalized structures and power, manifests unevenly through space and time, and is reproduced in places we tend to assume are the most water-secure in the world. We first briefly introduce “modern water” and the modern infrastructural ideal, a highly influential set of ideas that have shaped household water provision and infrastructure development over the past two centuries. Against this backdrop, we consolidate evidence to disrupt a set of narratives about water in high-income countries: the notion that water access is universal, clean, affordable, trustworthy, and uniformly or equitably governed. We identify five thematic areas of future research to delineate an agenda for advancing scholarship and action—including challenges of legal and regulatory regimes, the housing-water nexus, water affordability, and water quality and contamination. Data gaps underpin the experiences of household water insecurity. Taken together, our review of water security for households in high-income countries provides a conceptual map to direct critical research in this area for the coming years

Development and Validation Protocol for an Instrument to Measure Household Water Insecurity Across Cultures and Ecologies the Household Water InSecurity Experiences (HWISE) Scale

Introduction A wide range of water-related problems contribute to the global burden of disease. Despite the many plausible consequences for health and well-being, there is no validated tool to measure individual- or household-level water insecurity equivalently across varying cultural and ecological settings. Accordingly, we are developing the Household Water Insecurity Experiences (HWISE) Scale to measure household-level water insecurity in multiple contexts. Methods and analysis After domain specification and item development, items were assessed for both content and face validity. Retained items are being asked in surveys in 28 sites globally in which waterrelated problems have been reported (eg, shortages, excess water and issues with quality), with a target of at least 250 participants from each site. Scale development will draw on analytic methods from both classical test and item response theories and include item reduction and factor structure identification. Scale evaluation will entail assessments of reliability, and predictive, convergent, and discriminant validity, as well as the assessment of differentiation between known groups. Ethics and dissemination Study activities received necessary ethical approvals from institutional review bodies relevant to each site. We anticipate that the final HWISE Scale will be completed by late 2018 and made available through open-access publication. Associated findings will be disseminated to public health professionals, scientists, practitioners and policymakers through peer-reviewed journals, scientific presentations and meetings with various stakeholders. Measures to quantify household food insecurity have transformed policy, research and humanitarian aid efforts globally, and we expect that an analogous measure for household water insecurity will be similarly impactful