Welshness in British Wales: Negotiating national identity at the margins

Popular interpretations of national identity often focus on the unifying qualities of nationhood. However, societies frequently draw hierarchical distinctions between the people and places who are ‘most national’, and those who are ‘least national’. Little attention is paid to these marginal places within the nation and the experiences of their inhabitants. This article helps to address this by analysing the ‘less Welsh’ British Wales region of Wales, a country that has traditionally possessed a hierarchical, regionally constituted nationhood. The article studies the British Wales region both ‘from above’ – considering how some areas develop as ‘less national’ – and ‘from below’, introducing empirical ethnographic work into ‘everyday Welshness’ in this area. Whilst previous work on hierarchical nationhood focuses on how hierarchies are institutionalized by the state, this article demonstrates how people at the margins of the nation actively negotiate their place in the nation. Whilst people in this area expressed a strong Welshness, they also struggled to place themselves in the nation because they had internalized their lowly place within the national hierarchy. The article demonstrates the importance of place and social class for national identity construction and draws attention to the role of power in the discursive construction of hierarchical nationhood

Documenting risk: A comparison of policy and information pamphlets for using epidural or water in labour

BackgroundApproximately 30% of Australian women use epidural analgesia for pain relief in labour, and its use is increasing. While epidural analgesia is considered a safe option from an anaesthetic point of view, its use transfers a labouring woman out of the category of ‘normal’ labour and increases her risk of intervention. Judicious use of epidural may be beneficial in particular situations, but its current common use needs to be assessed more closely. This has not yet been explored in the Australian context.AimTo examine personal, social, institutional and cultural influences on women in their decision to use epidural analgesia in labour. Examining this one event in depth illuminates other birth practices, which can also be analysed according to how they fit within prevailing cultural beliefs about birth.MethodsEthnography, underpinned by a critical medical anthropology methodology.ResultsThese findings describe the influence of risk culture on labour ward practice; specifically, the policies and practices surrounding the use of epidural analgesia are contrasted with those on the use of water. Engaging with current risk theory, we identify the role of power in conceptualisations of risk, which are commonly perpetuated by authority rather than evidence.ConclusionsAs we move towards a risk-driven society, it is vital to identify both the conception and the consequences of promulgations of risk. The construction of waterbirth as a ‘risky’ practice had the effect of limiting midwifery practice and women's choices, despite evidence that points to the epidural as the more ‘dangerous’ option

Critical Medical Anthropology in Midwifery Research: A Framework for Ethnographic Analysis

In this article, we discuss the use of critical medical anthropology (CMA) as a theoretical framework for research in the maternity care setting. With reference to the doctoral research of the first author, we argue for the relevance of using CMA for research into the maternity care setting, particularly as it relates to midwifery. We then give an overview of an existing analytic model within CMA that we adapted for looking specifically at childbirth practices and which was then used in both analyzing the data and structuring the thesis. There is often no clear guide to the analysis or writing up of data in ethnographic research; we therefore offer this Critical analytic model of childbirth practices for other researchers conducting ethnographic research into childbirth or maternity care

Effects of multiple stenoses and post-stenotic dilatation on non-Newtonian blood flow in a small arteries

Fully-developed one-dimensional Casson flow through a single vessel of varying radius is proposed as a model of low Reynolds number blood flow in small stenosed coronary arteries. A formula for the resistance-to-flow ratio is derived, and results for yield stresses of τ0=0, 0.005 and 0.01 Nm-2, viscosities of μ=3.45×10−3, 4.00×10−3 and 4.55×10−3 Pa·s and fluxes of 2.73×10−6, ×10−5 and ×10−4 m3s−1 are determined for a segment of 0.45 mm radius and 45 mm length, with 15 mm abnormalities at each end where the radius varies by up to ±0.225 mm. When τ0=0.005 Nm-2, μ=4×10−3 Pa·s and Q=1, the numerical values of the resistance-to-flow ratio vary from[`(l)] = 0.525=0525, when the maximum radii of the two abnormal segments are both 0.675 mm, to[`(l)] = 3.06=306, when the minimum radii are both 0.225 mm. The resistance-to-flow ratio moves closer to unity as yield stress increases or as blood viscosity or flux decreases, and the magnitude of these alterations is greatest for yield stress and least for flux.B. Pincombe, J. Mazumdar and I. Hamilton-Crai

Understanding the emerging relationship between complementary medicine and mainstream health care: A review of the literature

The history of the relationship between complementary medicine (CM) and mainstream health care has shifted from the early days of pluralism, through hostility and exclusion, to one of grudging acceptance. The current situation is one of a tacit acknowledgement and in some cases open endorsement by biomedicine for a number of forms of CM practice, largely driven by the popularity of CM to consumers in our increasingly market driven health care system. How this relationship is ultimately worked out will impact both on the practice of CM and biomedicine, and on the health care choices available to consumers. In this article we review the research and commentary literature on the current and emerging relationship between biomedicine and CM. In particular we explore the ways in which mainstream inclusion of CM is discussed in the literature, and the biomedical and CM perspectives of mainstream CM inclusion. Finally we discuss the implications of the emerging relationship for CM, and CM practitioners and consumers.Marlene Wiese, Candice Oster & Jan Pincomb