Las enfermedades populares en la cultura española actual

Cabe suponer que cuando se goza de acceso universal a la sanidad, como sucede en la España contemporánea, la creencia en enfermedades populares termina desapareciendo. Sin embargo, una investigación de campo, desarrollada en el Suroeste de Andalucía en la primavera de 2004, indica que aún resta en la generalidad de la población un considerable conocimiento de un cierto número de enfermedades populares, y en concreto de la denominada «Mal de ojo». A partir de los datos obtenidos mediante un grupo de discusión con mujeres que curan estas enfermedades, la realización de una serie de entrevistas a personas o bien muy familiarizadas con el Mal de ojo, o bien profanas en esta enfermedad pero que creen en ella, y finalmente una revisión de materiales de archivo. Este artículo describe un modelo actual explicativo del Mal de ojo y propone algunas hipótesis sobre la pervivencia de la creencia en esta y otras enfermedades populares.It might be assumed that in a situation of universal access to biomedical health care, as is the case in contemporary Spain, folk illness beliefs would have vanished. Field research conducted in the spring of 2004 in Andalusia showed considerable knowledge in the general population about a number of folk illnesses, including mal de ojo (evil eye). Based on a focus group conducted with traditional healers, as well as in-depth interviews with specialists in mal de ojo, in-depth interviews with lay people who believe in this illness, and review of archival materials, this paper describes the contemporary explanatory model of mal de ojo and offers some hypotheses as to why beliefs in this illness, and other folk illnesses, persist

IMPACT: The Journal of the Center for Interdisciplinary Teaching and Learning. Volume 8, Issue 2, Summer 2019

Many of us look for ways to help students forge concrete connections between their academic studies and the real world. Universities encourage professors to develop community-based learning, allowing students to contribute to the community beyond their campus in a way that enhances their academic studies and enables them to create these connections. Scholars have theorized the many benefits of community-based learning, but professors have many questions about how to implement community-based learning in practice. What does a successful community-based learning assignment look like? What are the different ways to assess students’ learning experiences in community-based learning assignments? How can one build effective partnerships with community organizations? In these pages, you will find practical advice, theoretical framework, and firsthand accounts of community-engaged teaching across disciplines. Learn from professors who have designed assignments allowing students to complete community projects with refugees, prisoners, veterans, elementary school children, science museums, nursing homes, public libraries, and ESL populations. Students in an Anthropology course, for instance, conduct oral history interviews with refugees, and provide written transcriptions of the interviews that the refugees can then use as a learning tool in ESL classes. In a Science Methods class, students collaborate with an aquarium to produce meaningful exhibits that educate the public. First-year writing students work with veterans to create autobiographical films and write papers related to the project

Las enfermedades populares en la cultura española actual : un estudio comparado sobre el mal de ojo

Cabe suponer que cuando se goza de acceso universal a la sanidad, como sucede en la España contemporánea, la creencia en enfermedades populares termina desapareciendo. Sin embargo, una investigación de campo, desarrollada en el Suroeste de Andalucía en la primavera de 2004, indica que aún resta en la generalidad de la población un considerable conocimiento de un cierto número de enfermedades populares, y en concreto de la denominada «Mal de ojo». A partir de los datos obtenidos mediante un grupo de discusión con mujeres que curan estas enfermedades, la realización de una serie de entrevistas a personas o bien muy familiarizadas con el Mal de ojo, o bien profanas en esta enfermedad pero que creen en ella, y finalmente una revisión de materiales de archivo. Este artículo describe un modelo actual explicativo del Mal de ojo y propone algunas hipótesis sobre la pervivencia de la creencia en esta y otras enfermedades populares.It might be assumed that in a situation of universal access to biomedical health care, as is the case in contemporary Spain, folk illness beliefs would have vanished. Field research conducted in the spring of 2004 in Andalusia showed considerable knowledge in the general population about a number of folk illnesses, including mal de ojo (evil eye). Based on a focus group conducted with traditional healers, as well as in-depth interviews with specialists in mal de ojo, in-depth interviews with lay people who believe in this illness, and review of archival materials, this paper describes the contemporary explanatory model of mal de ojo and offers some hypotheses as to why beliefs in this illness, and other folk illnesses, persist

Anthropology as Necessary Unlearning. Examples from Camps, Courts, Schools and Businesses

U ovom radu istražujem poteškoće do kojih dolazi u pokušajima komunikacije preko kulturnih granica. Oslanjam se na svoj terenski rad u različitim sredinama u Istočnoj i Srednjoj Europi – u izbjegličkim kampovima, sudnicama, školama i poduzećima – u kojem sam zaključila da komunikacija najbolje funkcionira kada se uspostavi povjerenje, a korak koji je potreban da bi do toga došlo je na obje strane naučiti kako odučiti duboko ukorijenjene pretpostavke. Rad započinje raspravom o rasnim i etničkim stereotipima, u kojoj se oslanjam na niz uvida iz evolucijske psihologije i kognitivne znanosti. Zatim se okrećem mitovima o pamćenju te predlažem kako primijeniti najnovija otkrića specijaliziranih istraživanja pamćenja. U drugom dijelu rada problematiziram koncept "interkulturnosti", koji često legitimizira ideologiju "sukoba civilizacija". Predlažem da za uspostavu stvarne interkulturne komunikacije moramo napustiti modele doslovnog prevođenja i umjesto toga iskoristiti recentne antropološke uvide u načine funkcioniranja jezika, društvene konstrukcije značenja i postizanja zajedničkog razumijevanja. Pritom se nastavljam na radove lingvističkih i pravnih antropologa u ovom području te članak zaključujem razmišljanjima o povezanim temama kontradominantnosti i smijeha.This paper explores the problems which arise when people attempt to communicate across cultural boundaries. I draw on my fieldwork experience in various settings in Eastern and Central Europe – camps, courts, schools and businesses – where I found that communication works best when trust is established, and that the necessary step to fulfil this condition was to learn how to unlearn deeply rooted assumptions on both sides. The paper begins with a discussion of racial and ethnic stereotypes, drawing on a range of insights from evolutionary psychology and cognitive science. I then turn to memory myths, suggesting how to apply recent findings from specialized memory research. In the second part of the paper, I challenge the concept of "intercultural", which can all too easily legitimate the "clash of civilisations" ideology. In order to establish real intercultural communication, I suggest that we must abandon models of verbatim translation and instead take advantage of recent anthropological insights into how language works, how meanings are socially constructed and how shared understandings are achieved. In all this, I build on the work of linguistic and legal anthropologists who are already contributing to this endeavour and conclude with some meditations on the related themes of counter-dominance and laughter

The polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) inhibitor NMS-P937 is effective in a new model of disseminated primary CD56+ acute monoblastic leukaemia

CD56 is expressed in 15–20% of acute myeloid leukaemias (AML) and is associated with extramedullary diffusion, multidrug resistance and poor prognosis. We describe the establishment and characterisation of a novel disseminated model of AML (AML-NS8), generated by injection into mice of leukaemic blasts freshly isolated from a patient with an aggressive CD56+ monoblastic AML (M5a). The model reproduced typical manifestations of this leukaemia, including presence of extramedullary masses and central nervous system involvement, and the original phenotype, karyotype and genotype of leukaemic cells were retained in vivo. Recently Polo-Like Kinase 1 (PLK1) has emerged as a new candidate drug target in AML. We therefore tested our PLK1 inhibitor NMS-P937 in this model either in the engraftment or in the established disease settings. Both schedules showed good efficacy compared to standard therapies, with a significant increase in median survival time (MST) expecially in the established disease setting (MST = 28, 36, 62 days for vehicle, cytarabine and NMS-P937, respectively). Importantly, we could also demonstrate that NMS-P937 induced specific biomarker modulation in extramedullary tissues. This new in vivo model of CD56+ AML that recapitulates the human tumour lends support for the therapeutic use of PLK1 inhibitors in AML

Intrahousehold allocation of resources in larger and smaller Mexican households

This paper focuses on aspects of intrahousehold allocation of resources. It suggests that there is a first step involved in understanding household decisions as to allocation or misallocation of food within the household, which is that of understanding intrahousehold allocation of income. In this study, carried out in northwestern Mexico, what has been reported in the literature as examples of unequal access to food, particularly in larger households, may better be considered examples of lack of access on the part of purchasers of household food to all of the income which comes into the household.intrahousehold allocation of resources food consumption Mexico

The role of regional cultural values in decisions about hurricane evacuation

This paper explores perceived risk within the context of regional cultural values. We describe aspects of local culture in Galveston, Texas, as emically defined, which affected response to a mandatory evacuation order for Hurricane Ike. Since over the past two decades about a third of residents failed to evacuate for hurricanes, we focused on understanding why residents would choose to stay. We used a matched-pair design to control for socioeconomic status and resources that might affect evacuation. Thus, pairs of neighbors were interviewed (one person who evacuated and a neighbor who did not evacuate). Using a new technique (qualitative comparative analysis) to find clustering among people and themes, narratives from in-depth open-ended interviews revealed two distinct groups of people with separate motivations for not evacuating. One group focused on the hazards of leaving because traffic hazards could be greater than storm risk, combining traffic risk with past experiences and concern about delay in reentering. These people were well-prepared with supplies and equipment to survive for a week or two without services. A second group focused on media hype; they simply did not believe news sources about the danger the storm posed. Unfortunately, in this case, the media warnings were correct, and the storm fooded the town with about thirteen feet of seawater, sewage, and debris. The historical pattern of official warnings, response actions, and media warnings considered to be hype, may actually be encouraging a culture of non-compliance with future mandatory evacuation orders

Evaluating Understandings of State and Federal Pandemic Policies: The Situation of Refugees from the Congo Wars in Tampa, Florida

This article addresses underlying inequities for resettling refugees that have been exposed by COVID-19, including language barriers and access to public health information, food, health care, housing, and employment. It also speaks to theoretical concerns about the role of structural forces in creating increased health risks for vulnerable populations. Fieldwork that began in May 2020 investigated the extent to which refugees in Tampa understand and can operationalize the state and federal pandemic policies that have been put in place in the wake of the spread of COVID-19. The issues include understanding of COVID-19 and how it is transmitted, ability and willingness to practice distancing, access to food assistance, ability to help children with remote learning, and workplace disruptions, including the need to file for unemployment. Our method speaks to community-based approaches to anthropological fieldwork in pandemic situations, while demonstrating that critical language skills and in-depth cultural knowledge are essential for evaluating public health pandemic messaging and helping vulnerable populations