Il difficile equilibrio fra etica e libertà nella ricerca

For anthropologists working in their own home country, the ethical dilemmas brought about by the relationship with the community they study are different – although not entirely "other" – compared to those that anthropologists working in so called “exotic” fields face (Tarabusi 2014). When the field is "at home" (Jackson 1987; Peirano 1998), the subjects who participated in the research «surround the anthropologist at her or his desk» (Mosse, 2006: 937), “they read what we write” (Brettell 1993), sometimes claiming the possibility to raise objections and challenging the ethnographer’s authority (Mosse 2006, 2015). Our stakeholders – whether the sponsors or the other informants and interlocutors – may also feel somehow "betrayed" by the ethnographic representation (Brettell 1993; Fabietti 1999; Scheper-Hughes 2001; Rossi 2003; Semi 2010); they cannot recognize themselves and their practices in the ethnographic account of their experience (Sorgoni 2011). Reactions to the anthropological writing can be extremely emotional: they, in fact, have to do with «the relationship between professionals [...] to descriptions of their organizational work» (Mosse 2015: 131). Publishing is, therefore, a particularly delicate moment in the relationship between the anthropologist and his interlocutors. Drawing on empirical experience, this paper describes the negative reactions to writing. The purpose is twofold: exploring the issue of ethical dilemmas involved in the negative reception of an ethnographic account; and outlining the possible strategies that allow limiting the risks that Applied and “at home” Anthropology entail

Mental health and education decisions

Mental health problems - and depression in particular - have been rising internationally. The link between poor mental health and poor educational outcomes is particularly interesting in the case of the UK which has a low international ranking both on measures of child wellbeing and the probability of early drop-out from the labour market and education. We study this issue using a large longitudinal study of a recent cohort of teenagers in England. We use the General Health Questionnaire to derive measures of poor mental health. We find a large negative association between mental health problems and educational outcomes - where we consider examination results before leaving compulsory education and the probability of being not in education, employment or training at a young age. The association is large even after including a very rich set of controls. Results are stronger for girls and also vary according to the different components of the mental health measure. We also explore the potential role of intermediary mechanisms (truancy and risky behaviors)

Highly skilled migrant women: achievements and contributions in knowledge-based economies

Editorial of the Special Issue "Highly-Skilled Migrant Women Achievement and Contributions in Knowledge-Based Economies

Madri d’altrove e welfare educativo per l’infanzia: alleanze ambivalenti fra spazi di cura e saperi materni

A partire dal materiale etnografico raccolto in Emilia-Romagna, il contributo esplora il ruolo esercitato dal welfare educativo rivolto all’infanzia sulle esperienze di alcune donne migranti che costruiscono le loro soggettività di madri nel contesto di approdo. Le relazioni ambivalenti tra personale educativo e madri straniere offrono un prisma per cogliere, da un lato, i modi in cui certi assunti pedagogici e ideologie sull’infanzia iscritti nella storia locale vengono contestualmente rimaneggiati nei servizi educativi e tradotti in pratiche di cura, orientamenti morali e richieste normative che tendono a incoraggiare le donne a diventare madri e cittadine responsabili. Dall’altro lato, il confronto quotidiano con altri approcci relazionali e di cura viene colto talvolta dal personale educativo nella sua funzione specchio, come opportunità di arricchire la propria strumentazione professionale e sfidare costrutti reificati ed etnocentrici di genitorialità e benessere dei bambini. Il contributo indaga le pressioni a cui le madri migranti sono a volte sottoposte di fronte alle condotte che le istituzioni per l’infanzia si aspettano da loro in relazione alla cura dei bambini e al rapporto con i servizi educativi, ma porta anche alla luce la loro capacità di attraversare confini simbolici, emotivi e, a volte, nazionali per ridefinire i propri saperi di cura materna e le strategie per crescere i figli

Debito e dono

The analysis of the concept of the gift implies the analysis of the concept of debt. In the context of our post-global age, an age in which the grands récits which Jean François Lyotard spoke about in the ‘70’s are anything but extinct and now simply hidden or inscribed in the language and order of our society, they work intensely to reify social relations, and it is debt that has taken on a primary role in the construction of the world

Migration governance and agrarian and rural development: Comparative lessons from China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand

The purpose of this policy brief is to draw together key comparative lessons on different types of migration governance interventions in the AGRUMIG project research regions and examine how they support positive feedback loops between migration and agrarian and rural development. This exploration offers stories of success and omission. Moving beyond the elusive triple-win situation on the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries, migrants themselves and the highly politicized domain of the migration-development nexus, our point of departure is that there are vital prospects for augmenting the positive impacts of migration for societies globally. This brief focuses on how migration governance interventions are potentially useful in maximizing the gains between migration and agrarian development in the sending communities in China, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Nepal and Thailand

Cabbage and fermented vegetables : From death rate heterogeneity in countries to candidates for mitigation strategies of severe COVID-19

Large differences in COVID-19 death rates exist between countries and between regions of the same country. Some very low death rate countries such as Eastern Asia, Central Europe, or the Balkans have a common feature of eating large quantities of fermented foods. Although biases exist when examining ecological studies, fermented vegetables or cabbage have been associated with low death rates in European countries. SARS-CoV-2 binds to its receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). As a result of SARS-CoV-2 binding, ACE2 downregulation enhances the angiotensin II receptor type 1 (AT(1)R) axis associated with oxidative stress. This leads to insulin resistance as well as lung and endothelial damage, two severe outcomes of COVID-19. The nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is the most potent antioxidant in humans and can block in particular the AT(1)R axis. Cabbage contains precursors of sulforaphane, the most active natural activator of Nrf2. Fermented vegetables contain many lactobacilli, which are also potent Nrf2 activators. Three examples are: kimchi in Korea, westernized foods, and the slum paradox. It is proposed that fermented cabbage is a proof-of-concept of dietary manipulations that may enhance Nrf2-associated antioxidant effects, helpful in mitigating COVID-19 severity.Peer reviewe