Just shamans and healers or indigenous medical systems? A critical discourse analysis of the categories of shamans and healers as constructed by social science texts

"Just as even a single sentence has traditionally been taken to imply a whole language so a single discourse implies a whole society." Language and Power, N. Fairclough. This paper presents a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of the categories of shamans and healers as they are constructed and produced by some social science texts. The CDA has three aims. First, it seeks to problematize how the categories of shamans and healers have been traditionally used to construct and produce what has been said about the medical systems of indigenous communities around the world. This is considered in the backdrop of opacity by mainstream social sciences to construct them as medical systems. Not only medical systems, they are social institutions that are part of their comprehensive cultural systems. Therefore, they are indigenous knowledge platforms that help to respond to questions of health and illness, life and death, nature and culture, science and philosophy. The categories of shamans and healers have been used as a way to state that the indigenous medical systems are not scientific systems but isolated knowledge and practices performed by individual shamans or healers. The second aim of this CDA is to examine the categories of shamans and healers in the context of the contemporary discussion on language, communication and discourse analysis and its various power relations as constructed in social science texts. The third aim is to demonstrate that there is a profound link among language, medicine and the social sciences and that it is impossible to continue in denial of this link. It is the assumption of the CDA that the constructed categories of shamanism and healers in the social sciences convey a specific bias of a logocentric and "scientificentric" worldview that could not construct a category of indigenous medical systems. It is posited that, through this CDA of the categories of shamans and healers, the local and global discursive practices that most societies hold about health and illness and body and 'mind/soul/spirit' can be understood through the ample category of medical systems

Learning alliance methodology contributions to integrated care research

The regular cycle of conducting research when applied to human services is considered linear and rarely beneficial to all stakeholders involved directly or indirectly in a research project (service users, policy-makers, funders, local authorities, taxpayers). Funders of research, taxpayers, policy-makers and governments are increasingly questioning the linear process of conducting research and are demanding a higher socio-economic and scientific impact. New approaches seeking to re-think the utilisation, appropriation and impact of research outcomes in the health services area in more integrated ways, include the Learning Alliance (LA) methodology. Formally defined, an LA is “a series of connected multi-stakeholder platforms or networks (practitioner, researchers, policy-makers, service users) at different institutional levels (local, national) involved in two basic tasks: knowledge innovation and its scaling up. Methods: The methodological tools in an LA are various and can be used according to the convenience, context, theme and needs of a project. The most common ones are stakeholder analysis, research or action research, process documentation, dissemination and capacity building, among others. By applying the LA, the three projects briefly mentioned here sought to demonstrate that this approach could contribute to increasing their scientific and socio-economic impact while simultaneously generating learning among all stakeholders in more integrated ways. Results: Three projects using the LA have been completed as recently as 2017 and have covered different health themes, services and locations: identification of health needs of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups in the South East of England; perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence by Males in Substance Abuse Treatment in Brazil and England; and Attitudes to Palliative and End of Life Care Services among BME Groups in the South East of England. Overall, the three research experiences in combination with the use of stakeholders’ participation and documentation revealed that the role of the LA methodology demonstrates significant issues. First, it contributed to narrowing the dominant gap between research and practice that is so common in health services by bringing together several stakeholders (policy-makers, service users, service providers) who are not involved in research on a daily basis. Through knowledge sharing, all stakeholders benefited from the research projects’ outcomes. Second, the documentation of events in the projects become a significant source of additional data in which impact and the know-how got captured. Similarly, documentation and dissemination of preliminary findings in the three cases comprised a tool for promoting changes in attitudes and mindsets that translated faster into adoption of integrated changes in practice. Third, the work undertaken as a network, enabled all stakeholders to understand that the research projects could be more than the traditional linear processes. The research projects’ outcomes benefited stakeholders in different ways beyond the traditional research products (academic papers or technologies) to include other social, personal and institutional processes that occur in a project, and demonstrated a better impact. Conclusion: The application of the LA methodology maximised the value of conducting research as a network by including various stakeholders and not only researchers to integrate research, practice, learning and policy issues in health services

Monitoring, evaluation and impact of research projects

The aim of this seminar was to present some definitions, frameworks and a case study for monitoring and evaluating research projects in order to guarantee a significant socio-economic, cultural and scientific impact. Hence, the seminar was organised around three main points. The first one presented some basic definitions of monitoring and evaluation in terms of core managerial and research activities which are central to any research project. The second point described two of the main frameworks (Results-based Management and Outcome Mapping) which are being used by governments, multilateral organisations and research institutions to obtain better results (outcomes and impacts). The last point presented my experience as a social scientist advising a scientific agricultural research project in Karnataka, India (2003 and 2006) on how to improve its socio-economic and scientific results. Although the last point was related to a specific agricultural research project, the audience will be asked to think laterally as health and agricultural research projects display more convergences than divergences at the point of delivery impact. Ultimately, the purpose of the seminar was to address the issue that monitoring, evaluation and impact (results) should be characterised by both core managerial task but equally social science research activities --regardless of the context in which they take place: health, agriculture or education. For some preliminary information on the topic the audience is invited to watch a documentary on monitoring and evaluation issues in India. I was the executive producer for this documentary. http://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/play/999/Who-sets-the-Agenda- Also they are invited to read the following docs: Moreno-Leguizamon, C. and Spigner, C., (2011) Monitoring and Evaluation of Wellbeing Projects in Knight, A, and McNaught, A., Understanding Wellbeing: An Introduction for Students and Practitioners of Health and Social Care, Lantern Publishing Limited. Colvin, J., Nagaraju, N., Moreno-Leguizamon, C., Govindappa, M.R., Manjunatha, R., Padmaja, A.S., Joshi, N., Hanson, P., Seal, S., and Muniyappa, V., (2012) Socio-economic and scientific impact created by whitefly-transmitted, plant-virus disease resistant tomato varieties in Southern, India, Journal of Integrative Journal of Integrative Agriculture, February 2012

Practicing critical thinking (CT) in the social sciences

One stream that is becoming significant within various teaching critical thinking initiatives in higher education is that of introducing professionals of various disciplines to the history of knowledge and the various paradigms deriving from it. These paradigms - phenomenology, social constructionism, critical social theory, post-modernism, feminism and post-structuralism - are, among others, very important paradigms of knowledge that have contributed to contemporary counter-arguments against some of the most recalcitrant and dominant views of the positivist paradigm, which is taken as a given by many disciplines when they come to define and represent what knowledge is. In order to introduce the SYLFF fellows at Jadavpur University to this discussion on critical thinking, a workshop/lecture addressing how to practise critical thinking in the social sciences was delivered on the 18th of April, 2012. The session, which was very well attended, inspired some very enthusiastic and fervent dialogue which raised some highly debatable arguments and issues for both the audience and the presenter

Doing Business with India: Health and Social Care

Basic characteristics of the Indian healthcare system SWOT analysis of the Indian economy The healthcare sector main trends Opportunities in the main areas of the health secto

Literature review of best health and social care practices for individuals with intellectual disabilities encountering the end of life

This Literature Review (LR) aimed to identity what were care best practices for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID) encountering the end of life. Five EBSCOhost academic databases were used to choose thirty primary research articles, from which four emergent themes were identi ed: (1) end-of-life care approaches, policies and guidelines; (2) challenges experienced by members of the health and social care team; (3) the importance, challenges and bene ts of communication; and (4) examples of good practice including rounded end-of-life care that emphasises working collaboratively and inclusively with family and friends. Further, overall ndings revealed that there was an absence of policies, procedures and guidelines governing these critical end-of-life care practices, including decision making processes. is means that committed members of the health and social care team working to engage with and support individuals with intellectual disabilities at the end of life are habitually underprepared as they lack appropriate communication skills, experience of dealing with death, relevant training and formal support. On top of this, the LR indicated that there was inadequate collaborative, interagency and multi-professional working. is requires also the integration of the views of the individual with disabilities into models of care, using plain language when communicating with them, especially when breaking bad news that extents to their families and friends. Similarly, the provision of integrated services that respects and fosters autonomy of the dying person with intellectual disabilities. Finally, the LR noted an absence of theory and universal good practice guidance/frameworks on dying, death and intellectual disabilities, and calls for future research framed within the human rights approach

Is there any role for systematic/literature reviews in policy-oriented economic research?

The seminar presented and discussed some of the basic ways HOW systematic /literature reviews are conducted currently in the health sciences with the aim to trigger a dialogue with economists around the question of whether there is a role for systematic/literature reviews in policy-oriented economic research

Positive aging, positive dying: Intersectional and daily communicational issues surrounding palliative and end of life care services in minority groups in the UK and the US

As our global demographic shifts towards an increasingly aging population, we have an opportunity to transform how we experience and think about getting older and embrace the diversity and contribution that this population can bring to society. The International Handbook of Positive Aging showcases the latest research and theory into aging, examining the various challenges faced by older adults and the ways in which we can bring a much needed positive focus towards dealing with these. The handbook brings together disparate research from medical, academic, economic and social community fields, with contributions from NHS partners, service users, universities across the UK and collaborations with international research leaders in the field of aging. Divided into sections, the first part of the book focuses on introducing the concept of positive aging before going on to cover the body over the life course, well-being and care delivery. All contributors recognise the fact that we are living longer is providing us with a tremendous opportunity to enjoy and flourish in healthy and fulfilling later lives, and this focus on the importance of patient empowerment is integral to the book. This is a valuable reference source for those working in developmental psychology, clinical psychology, mental health, health sciences, medicine, neuropsychological rehabilitation, sociology, anthropology, social policy and social work. It will help encourage researchers, professionals and policy makers to make the most of opportunities and innovations to promote a person’s sense of independence, dignity, well-being, good health and society participation as they get older

Models to engage vulnerable migrants and refugees in their health, through community empowerment and learning alliance

The present report consists of four chapters: Chapter 1 provides the general context of My Health as a research project by presenting its background, main objectives-outputs and work packages, aim and criteria of the final report (D2.2) as per the Evaluation Plan, deliverables and milestones (MS6), the methods used for this evaluation and the team collaborating in the elaboration of the report. Chapter 2 discusses and responds to the five evaluation questions MyHealth outlined in its evaluation plan in month 4th. They are respectively: i) how did MyHealth face the main obstacles identified and solved? ii) how have both MyHealth outputs and outcomes improved the health situation of unaccompanied children and women? iii) what are the main criteria emerging from MyHealth regarding quality, effectiveness and sustainability when working with VMR, particularly WUM? iv) to what extent has the use of some components of the LA methodology contributed to the learning and strengthening of the impact of MyHealth as seen by the stakeholders? And finally, v) were expected outputs and outcomes of MyHealth achieved by June 2020? Why, or why not? Chapter 3 discusses the overall evaluation of MyHealth according to its relevance as a project, its efficiency, effectiveness, impact and sustainability. Chapter 4 provides a general conclusion to the report and includes a list of recommendations according to methodology, policy, women and unaccompanied minors (WUM), health promotion, EU projects on VMR-WUM, EU administrative procedures and dissemination. The report is complemented with eight annexes

Transbordering assemblages: power, agency and autonomy (re)producing health infrastructures in South East of England

This paper discusses how intersecting identities, stigma, and health-based infrastructures are spatially affiliated and territorialised in the South East of England through the findings of three research projects aimed at understanding health inequalities among urban Black, Asian, and Ethnic Minorities including Gypsies and Travellers (BAME and GT) groups. It problematises Wacquant’s approach to territorial stigma by explaining how Butler’s notion of vulnerability and Castoriadis’ notion of autonomous agency help to expand our understanding of the interplay between stigma and health infrastructures. Moreover, it suggests that such interplay requires an intersectional approach to identity as performative and embodied practice using illustrative examples. We propose that these health settings and infrastructures can be characterised as ‘transbordering assemblages’, following Irazábal (2014) who describes its embedded notions of pluri-locality (here and there: ‘[T]here’), pluri-identity and practices of bordering (being in or out/in and out/in between) when experiencing health needs