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Background: The partograph has been endorsed by World Health Organization (WHO) since 1994 which presents an algorithm for assessing maternal and foetal conditions and labor progression. Monitoring labour with a partograph can reduce adverse pregnancy outcomes such as prolonged labor, emergency C-sections, birth asphyxia and stillbirths. However, partograph use is still very low, particularly in low and middle income countries (LMICs). In Bangladesh the reported partograph user rate varies from 1.4% to 33.0%. Recently, an electronic version of the partograph, with the provision of online data entry and user aid for emergency clinical support, has been tested successfully in different settings. With this proven evidence, we conducted and operations research to test the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing an e-partograph, for the first time, in 2 public hospitals in Bangladesh Methods: We followed a prospective crossover design. Two secondary level referral hospitals, Jessore and Kushtia District Hospital (DH) were the study sites. All pregnant women who delivered in the study hospitals were the study participants. All nurse-midwives working in the labor ward of study hospitals were trained on appropriate use of both types of partograph along with standard labour management guidelines. Collected quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS 23 statistical software. Discrete variables were expressed as percentages and presented as frequency distribution and cross tabulations. Chi square tests were employed to test the association between exposure and outcome variables. Potential confounding factors were adjusted using multivariate binary logistic regression methods. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional review board of the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b). Findings: In total 2918 deliveries were conducted at Jessore DH and 2312 at Kushtia DH during one-year study period. Of them, 1012 (506 in each facility) deliveries were monitored using partograph (paper or electronic). The trends of facility based C-section rates was downwards in both the hospitals; 43% to 37% in Jessore and from 36% to 25% in Kushtia Hospital. There was a significant reduction of prolonged labour with e-partograph use. In Kushtia DH, the prolonged labour rate was 42% during phase 1 with the paper version which came down to 29% during phase-2 with the e-partograph use. The similar result was observed in Jessore DH where the prolonged labour rate reduced to 7% with paper partograph from the reported 30% prolonged labour with e-partograph. The e-partograph user rate was higher than the paper partograph during both phases (phase 1: 3.31, CI: 2.04–5.38, p < .001 and in phase 2: 15.20 CI: 6.36–36.33, p < .001) after adjusting for maternal age, parity, gestational age, religion, mother’s education, husband’s education, and fetal sex Conclusion: The partograph user rate has significantly improved with the e- partograph and was associated with an overall reduction in cesarean births. Use of the e-partograph was also associated with reduced rates of prolonged labour. This study has added to the growing body of evidence on the positive impact of e-partograph use. We recommend implementing e-partograph intervention at scale in both public and private hospitals in Bangladesh. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to offer an initial description and analysis of the material preserved at the Fondo Lenz, kept by the Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación in Santiago de Chile, and mainly among the Franz Boas Papers of the American Philosophical Society, concerning the exchange of letters between the German-Chilean linguist Rodolfo Lenz and the German-American anthropologist Franz Boas, from 1896 to 1931. It consists of a corpus of 17 letters, in which both scientists exchange materials and information on the development of their research, especially regarding the study of language and culture of the native peoples of the American continent, as well as the development and challenges in the production of proper conditions for the progress of research on such scientific subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) Vent.) was one of the most widely distributed crop species in prehistoric Oceania, occurring from continental East Asia to the Polynesian islands. Its broad distribution is largely due to human-mediated dispersal during colonization of the islands of Near and Remote Oceania. We explore the potential for analyses of genetic variation in paper mulberry and the value of such data for the development of a new commensal model species for reconstructing patterns of human mobility in Oceania. We introduce and discuss paper mulberry as another commensal species and outline key features for its contribution to the understanding of human migration and post-colonization interaction. Here, we describe some of the extant B. papyrifera populations in Remote Oceania and Taiwan that were sampled for initial studies. We argue that the unique characteristics of this species and its importance in ancient Pacific island societies may provide the opportunity to collect valuable genetic data with which we can address several key questions in Pacific prehistory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is the contention of this paper that ethics of work ought to be anthropological, and artificial intelligence (AI) research and development, which is the focus of work today, should be anthropological, that is, human-centered. This paper discusses the philosophical and theological implications of the development of AI research on the intrinsic nature of work and the nature of the human person. AI research and the implications of its development and advancement, being a relatively new phenomenon, have not been comprehensively interrogated in the social and ethical teachings of the Catholic Church. This paper, therefore, proposes a path for this interrogation by expounding a discourse which is believed to be epistemically helpful in the developing discourse of AI in the ethical and social teachings of the Church. The advancement in the research on AI is not only redefining the meaning of work, but, even more so, it is questioning the metaphysical notion of the human person and the theological notion of work as an intrinsic part in the selfhood and dignity of the human person. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Watchman Nee's anthropology has been widely debated and polarized in academic fields. However, Watchman Nee's concept of human and the problem of ecclesiastical practices have often been overlooked in contemporary Chinese mainland churches. In the first three sections, this paper will start from different Chinese mainland denominations' interpretation of Nee's concept of human and their corresponding ecclesiastical practices. On the one hand, through the interpretive attitudes of different denominations toward the "concept of human" and their related ecclesiastical practices, we can see the situation of acceptance of Nee's anthropology in different contemporary Chinese denominations. On the other hand, we can also provide feedback for the academic research on Nee's anthropology from the reality of contemporary Chinese mainland churches. Then, this paper will make a comparison of anthropologies between Luther and Watchman Nee, referring to the current study of Martin Luther and the Third Enlightenment in China. The comparative study of these two men will not only open up new avenues for the study of their theologies but will also serve Chinese mainland churches by utilizing the results of the research on Nee's thoughts and Martin Luther and the Third Enlightenment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using anthropological theory, this paper examines human–android interactions (HAI) as an emerging aspect of android science. These interactions are described in terms of adaptive learning (which is largely subconscious). This article is based on the observations reported and supplementary data from two studies that took place in Japan with a teleoperated android robot called Telenoid in the socialization of school children and older adults. We argue that interacting with androids brings about a special context, an interval, and a space/time for reflection and imagination that was not there before. During the interaction something happens. There is adaptive learning and as a result, both children and older adults accepted Telenoid, and the children and older adults accepted each other. Using frames of play and ritual, we make sense and 'capture' moments of adaptive learning, and the feedback that elicits a social response from all study participants that results in self-efficacy and socialization. While "ritual" refers to the application of what has been learned and "play" means that there are no obvious consequences of what has been learned. This analysis illuminates new understanding about the uncanny valley, cultural robotics and the therapeutic potential of HAI. This has implications for the acceptance of androids in 'socialized roles' and gives us insight into the subconscious adaptive learning processes that must take place within humans to accept androids into our society. This approach aims to provides a clearer conceptual basis and vocabulary for further research of android and humanoid development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disasters and climate-related events, including tropical storms, droughts, coastal erosion, and ocean acidification, threaten small island nations. Given the urgency of reducing disaster risks and the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations, this reflection essay pursues three objectives. First, it highlights the role of anthropology, ethnography, and multi-sited research in exploring disaster impacts, climate crises, and public policy in island communities. It then highlights national planning and inter-regional activities to build awareness of various risk reduction efforts by island nations and multi-governmental organizations. This article concludes with discussion prompts to engage researchers, scholars, students, and practitioners studying and working in small island nations. Due to the growing interest in climate equity and justice, this paper argues that anthropologists can offer valuable methodologies and approaches to develop transdisciplinary and nuanced insights into researching disaster risk reduction efforts and climate policy networks in and across island nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the twelfth century, certain thinkers in the north of Europe were exalting human reason in a manner that had not been seen since the time of the ancient philosophers. Adelard of Bath, William of Conches, Thierry of Chartres and Peter Abelard all championed ratio in a way that seemed to challenge the hegemony of learning that rested securely with the authority of scripture, the testament of the Fathers and the canons of the established councils. In so doing, it represented a significantly different approach from the firmly established 'authors' (auctores) as certain scholars pursued their learning, and indeed even divine ascent, via other avenues. Even the visionary Hildegard von Bingen set enormous stock in rationality. This paper will discuss the use of reason for the anagogic ascent to the divine in order to trace its roots to a Platonic understanding of the universe in tandem with a highly positive anthropology that allowed for a bold reassessment of human capabilities, as well as a new appreciation of nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactions between people and large carnivores on shared landscapes can have harmful social and ecological consequences. Human–carnivore coexistence depends on an assemblage of sociological factors including effective management institutions that address the social costs of carnivore conservation and promote tolerance toward wildlife. In East Africa, large carnivores are particularly troublesome for herders who depend on livestock for subsistence and wellbeing. This paper provides an overview of human–hyena conflict in the Tarangire ecosystem of northern Tanzania. It presents descriptive results from a questionnaire survey (n = 1076) administered as part of an anthropological study (2019–2020; 2022; 2023) of human–wildlife interactions across twelve villages inhabited by Maasai agropastoralists. The survey instrument was designed through community-based participatory research methods to convey herder concerns about the impacts of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) on the livestock economy. Based on the perceptions and local ecological knowledge of Maasai interlocutors, the paper provides an overview of the spatial and temporal patterns of human–hyena interactions. Perceived frequencies of hyena attacks on kraaled livestock were unevenly distributed geographically, with those homesteads surrounding Manyara Ranch most heavily affected. Based on herder-reported livestock losses, the costs of depredation by spotted hyenas across the study area were estimated at approximately USD 904.84 per household per year. Most homesteads lacked fortified bomas and would benefit from the provision of lights and fencing materials to improve kraal structures. The paper's central finding is that spotted hyenas represent a pressing, everyday concern for local pastoralists. Unsurprisingly, herders despise hyenas and are intolerant of sharing landscapes with them. For carnivore conservation outside protected areas to thrive in Tanzania, conservationists and policy makers must engage more meaningfully with the lived experiences of local herders who bear the brunt of conservation costs on their livelihoods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an attempt to consider an alternative pluralist pantheism (Mary Jane Rubenstein) as the next step in the evolution of interpersonal, interspecies, and God–human–nature relationships and its possible realisation in (post-)Christian ecofeminism and its epistemology. It follows the methodology and epistemology of theological ecofeminism, which assumes that the oppression of women and the exploitation of nature stem from the same constellation of phenomena: patriarchal domination, dualistic anthropologies, and global hypercapitalism. Recognising that pantheism is a very complex phenomenon and should not be viewed as a single codified viewpoint, but rather as a diverse family of different doctrines, this paper understands pantheism primarily as the paradigm that asserts that everything is part of a divine unity consisting of an all-encompassing, manifested deity or God/Goddess. The paper first explains the pan-en-theistic turn in Christian ecofeminism as a tool for deconstructing the dominant Cartesian dualistic binaries and their symbolism and metanarratives, and as the first "safe" phase of transition from Christian anthropocentrism. From this standpoint, Grace M. Jantzen's defense of pantheism as an alternative to transcendental theism is further explored as she argues that divinity is found "in" the physical and material world and nowhere else. The paper then moves to the second phase, proposed in the final part of the paper, on the possibility of the theoretical adoption of pluralist pantheism in (post-)Christian ecofeminist ecotheology. Here, the question of the "fear and horror of pantheism" in Western thought is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The windigo is a generally malicious figure in several Indigenous cultures of the land currently administered by the governments of the USA and Canada. In traditional narratives, the windigo is generally associated with hunger, greed, winter, and cannibalism. In this paper, I discuss how both Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers have used the figure of the windigo to critique and challenge environmental injustice. While some windigo stories present the being as a terrifying monster of the "wilderness", others use the figure as an embodiment of environmental destruction and the injustice that comes with it. Windigo stories also highlight three further aspects of colonial violence: military violence, sexual violence, and religious violence. Although some stories depict windigos being defeated through violence, many stress the importance of care and healing to overcome the windigo affliction. In fact, storytelling itself may be part of the healing process. Windigo stories, I argue, can be a useful way to interrogate the injustices created by colonialism and environmental destruction, and the stories can also offer hope for healing and for an environmentally just future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This white paper takes the unknown and the vague and movement towards/in those realms – as frames for a discussion of present practice and emergent potentiality of anthropological engagement with peace (building) studies. Arguably, embracing the unknown or vague as generative constants as well as fundamental elements of non-linear peacebuilding further open collaborative, communicative spaces of possibility. Aspects of this discussion are drawn from broader conceptual/methodological considerations in both peacebuilding and social anthropology so as to contribute to an interdisciplinary alignment. Furthermore, the positions and persuasions in this work are (in)formed by extensive, on-going examinations of research and narratives active in Southeast Europe today. By looking to emergent concepts in peace studies via anthropology while moving with regional-specific ethnographies that speak back against North Atlantic hegemonies, there is offered a discussion that brings local realities into transnational (socio-academic) deliberations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article delves into the intricacies of human defences in various domains, including the biological and psychological responses to protect oneself, and the abstract concept of sacrificing one's life to uphold ethical, moral, religious, and spiritual values. While physical, psychological, and moral values have been attended to in counselling, regard for the religious and spiritual aspects is still developing. As the author writes from a Christian perspective, Christian faith and values are considered. It is posited that a study of human nature, as presented in the Christian Bible, can facilitate a profound comprehension of human defences. The paper scrutinizes the correlation between "human defences" and "Christian spirituality" through a Christian lens on human nature. Furthermore, it introduces the idea of "spiritual defence" and how it is related to a spiritual awakening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I inquire into the notion of background in the philosophy of Charles Taylor and seek to complement it with reflections made by Hubert Dreyfus. This notion aims to counteract the cognitive representationalism that Descartes's thought tremendously promoted and that has been largely perpetuated by modern epistemology. Representationalism, for Taylor, makes us open to anthropologies based on ontologies of disengagement (dualism and mechanistic monism), an imprint which decisively influenced modern and contemporary philosophy despite the efforts of different schools of thought that claim to have overcome it. For Dreyfus, the notion of background is linked to our social practices, and Heidegger's controversial "the One" (das Man) is its privileged place of transmission; it is also that which would definitively collapse the Cartesian representationalist legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates trabecular bone ontogenetic changes in two different Polish populations, one prehistoric and the other historical. The studied populations are from the Brześć Kujawski region in Kujawy (north-central Poland), one from the Neolithic Period (4500–4000 BC) and one from the Middle Ages (twelfth-sixteenth centuries AD), in total 62 vertebral specimens (32 males, 30 females). Eight morphometric parameters acquired from microCT scan images were analysed. Two-way ANOVA after Box-Cox transformation and multifactorial regression model were calculated. A significant decrease in percentage bone volume fraction (BV/TV; [%]) with age at death was observed in the studied sample; Tb.N (trabecular number) was also significantly decreased with age; trabecular separation (Tb.Sp) increased with advancing age; connectivity density (Conn.D) was negatively correlated with biological age and higher in the Neolithic population. These data are found to be compatible with data from the current biomedical literature, while no loss of horizontal trabeculae was recorded as would be expected based on modern osteoporosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Pancreatic cancer (PCa) is a highly aggressive and deadly form of cancer with a low five-year survival rate. This paper explores the role of pharmacologic anthropology in understanding and addressing health disparities related to PCa. Pharmacologic anthropology examines how cultural, social, economic, and behavioral factors affect the use and effectiveness of pharmaceutical treatments. In the context of PCa, it helps us understand why different population groups experience disparities in PCa outcomes. By adopting this interdisciplinary approach, researchers, healthcare providers, and policymakers can better understand the complex dynamics of PCa health disparities. This understanding can lead to culturally sensitive interventions, improved communication between patients and providers, increased community engagement, and policies that enhance access to quality care for all PCa patients. Pancreatic cancer (PCa) remains a formidable global health challenge, with high mortality rates and limited treatment options. While advancements in pharmacology have led to improved outcomes for various cancers, PCa continues to exhibit significant health disparities, disproportionately affecting certain populations. This paper explores the intersection of pharmacology and anthropology in understanding the health disparities associated with PCa. By considering the socio-cultural, economic, and behavioral factors that influence the development, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of PCa, pharmacologic anthropology provides a comprehensive framework to address these disparities and improve patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR) project represented here through papers by Thomas Lewis, Aaron Stalnaker, Hans Lucht, and Lee Yearley (with responses) was motivated by the judgment that the trend toward a focus on virtue ethics, with attendant concern for techniques of forming selves, creates an opportunity for a dialogue with ethnographers. I argue that the CSWR essays neglect social and institutional considerations, as well as overdrawing the distinction between “formalist” and virtue approaches to the study of comparative ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines a particular aspect of Paolo Mantegazza's (1831-1910) work: the establishment of the Museo Psicologico as part of his anthropological project. The study begins by examining the general characteristics of Mantegazza's anthropological viewpoint, justifying the inclusion of comparative psychology as a subfield of anthropological psychology, with a focus on the key principles that served as the theoretical foundation for the establishment of the Museum. Subsequently, the proposal for the foundation of the Museum will be analyzed, including a description of the theoretical and methodological principles underlying the selection and arrangement of the objects to be collected. Finally, the paper will describe the Museo Psicologico at the time of its inauguration, providing an overview of its organization in the following years and an attempt to uncover the reasons behind its abrupt dissolution after the death of its founder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Science fiction takes many forms, including academic work that calls on readers to think about social and cultural problems. This paper takes a piece of science fiction, Kirinyaga: A Fable of Utopia, as an example and discusses the conflicts among globalization, modernization and tradition present in the text, thus highlighting the academic meaning of science fiction as a literary form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence-based policy ensures that the best interventions are effectively implemented. Integrating rigorous, relevant science into policy is therefore essential. Barriers include the evidence not being there; lack of demand by policymakers; academics not producing rigorous, relevant papers within the timeframe of the policy cycle. This piece addresses the last problem. Academics underestimate the speed of the policy process, and publish excellent papers after a policy decision rather than good ones before it. To be useful in policy, papers must be at least as rigorous about reporting their methods as for other academic uses. Papers which are as simple as possible (but no simpler) are most likely to be taken up in policy. Most policy questions have many scientific questions, from different disciplines, within them. The accurate synthesis of existing information is the most important single offering by academics to the policy process. Since policymakers are making economic decisions, economic analysis is central, as are the qualitative social sciences. Models should, wherever possible, allow policymakers to vary assumptions. Objective, rigorous, original studies from multiple disciplines relevant to a policy question need to be synthesized before being incorporated into policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the historical development of the Library of the Institute of Archaeology in Belgrade through the work of its librarians. The Library is a specialized research library designed for researchers at the Institute. It is one of the largest special libraries in the region, with literature in the fields of archaeology, history, art history, architecture, anthropology, and other related sciences. From its foundation to the present day, Library's work and development have been marked by its employees. The paper describes the formation and work tasks of the Library in the first part and the transition from a card catalogue to a local electronic catalogue in the second part. A new development in the Library's work is establishing the RAI repository and the ongoing transition from WINISIS to the COBISS catalogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drifting as methodological (pre)disposition: ethnographic immersion and ontological engagement in a catholic spiritual practice Understanding ethnography as a privileged methodological situation in the production of anthropological knowledge, this paper reflects on Holbraad and Pedersen's proposal for methodological intervention, in dialogue with phenomenology and the anthropology of embodiment. From these referents, the ways of approaching religious-spiritual experiences are questioned, with a critique of atheism and methodological agnosticism. As an alternative, and starting from authors who defend a phenomenological, embodied model of ethnography, which assumes the same ontological risks as those with whom we participate, I present my reflections from a radical immersion in a Catholic practice (of Ignatian spirituality). Surrender or drift, understood as (pre) disposition to "get lose", becomes a critical issue in this model of experimentation that tries to overflow and play with the limits of possible ethnographies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European Bronze Age societies are generally characterised by increased mobility and the application of isotopic methods to archaeology has allowed the rate and range of human travels to be quantified. However, little is known about the mobility of the people inhabiting East-Central Europe in the late Early and Middle Bronze Age (1950–1250 BC) whose primary subsistence strategy was herding supported by crop cultivation. This paper presents the results of strontium (87Sr/86Sr) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope analyses in the enamel of people buried in collective graves at the cemeteries in Gustorzyn and Żerniki Górne. These sites are located in Kujawy and the Nida Basin, a lowland and an upland region with clearly different environmental conditions, respectively. Both sites are classified as belonging to the Trzciniec cultural circle and were used between 16th and 13th centuries BC. Among the 34 examined individuals only an adult female from Gustorzyn can be assessed as non-local based on both 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O signatures in her first molar. This may indicate the practice of exogamy in the studied population but more generally corresponds with the hypothesis of limited mobility within these societies, as has previously been inferred from archaeological evidence, anthropological analysis, and stable isotope-based diet reconstruction. New and existing data evaluated in this paper show that the 87Sr/86Sr variability in the natural environment of both regions is relatively high, allowing the tracking of short-range human mobility. A series of oxygen isotope analyses (conducted for all but one individuals studied with strontium isotopes) indicates that δ18O ratios measured in phosphate are in agreement with the predicted modern oxygen isotope precipitation values, and that this method is useful in detecting travels over larger distances. The challenges of using both 87Sr/86Sr and δ18O isotopic systems in provenance studies in the glacial landscapes of temperate Europe are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper draws on a late medieval example to show that images of nature can also be images of the human body. It presents the Anthropologium de hominis dignitate by the Leipzig magister Magnus Hundt (1449–1519). The Anthropologium is a text that prominently integrates the human body into its conception of man and its account of human dignity. The body is not presented as a prison of the soul, but as a perfectly balanced physical counterpart to the soul. The paper shows how Hundt's reflections were influenced by his commitment to the Thomistic school. Moreover, it reveals how the elevated Imago Dei thesis provides a justification for the study of the human body. Hundt is shown to offer nothing less than a theological–philosophical legitimation for practising medicine. In doing so, he also incorporates images of nature in a literal sense, insofar as he includes images of the human body in his book. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Witnessing the speed of growth and reach in demand for service design (SD) confronts us to ask what neoliberal forces are behind this acceleration? Can services, systems and structures really improve at this velocity; what are we eroding and ignoring in turn? Pausing to ask about the direction and effect of change is critical to recognising SD’s implication in the status quo. This paper calls for a reflexive methodology of noticing precedents that are quotidian and dystopian to show how dominant logics of SD commodify social practices of relating and organizing. By slowing down to attend, listen and reflect, our approaches reveal existing rituals, values, nuances and commitments that teach us what an apolitical SD fails to see. Rather than adding aspirational methods, this paper calls for greater attention to the political in SD practice, sharing paths of resistance and reorientation toward ethical, transformative, self-determined service design work and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the different perspectives on important issues discussed in archaeological inquiry. Distinction between core beliefs and models; Assumption of the application of model from classical economics to an archaeological problems; Requirement of a recursive relationship between ideas and observations in learning the process of doing archaeology.

This article examines the integration of anthropology in Slovenian history over the last decade. It is based on an analysis of 1,707 papers published between 2009 and 2021 in four representative history journals, Studia Historica Slovenica, Zgodovinski časopis, Acta Histriae and Annales, Series Historia et Sociologia. A content analysis of papers reveals the integration of the field of history and analyzes the embedding of anthropological content in Slovenian history. The results show (1) that there are 18 distinctive thematic areas in Slovenian history research in the sample under consideration, (2) that the topics can be categorized into 4 groups: (a) National topics (b) Military topics, (c) Local topics and (d) Church-biographical themes, (3) that the presence and relationships between the central themes appears to be uniform from 2009, (4) that the field appears to be strongly masculinized, (5) that history has a strong basis in the humanities, (6) that the themes show a relatively limited range, and (7) that anthropology comprises an integral part of the study of Slovenian history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of biopsychosocial factors in the genesis and maintenance of disease is increasingly being recognized. Most illnesses should be studied from a multifactorial perspective to facilitate understanding and treating them. Many psychopathological processes involve factors such as loneliness, hopelessness, and lack of social cohesion. As early as the nineteenth century, J.M. Charcot defined those illnesses in which no organic lesion was visible as functional disorders. Today, the anthropological view of illness known as the Heidelberg School provides us with a more global and comprehensible assessment of illness. The anthropological approach is complemented by a bioethical one, a bioethics of daily life which, as a practical science, studies and evaluates the living conditions of individuals, seeking practical solutions and contributing its reflections with deliberation and care. In this paper, we aim to highlight the most important factors that have an impact on illness by providing an anthropological view of illness and bringing bioethics closer to everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tradition-brands are cultural constructs launched in Romania around the year 2000, which bring into play a repertoire of conventions and “myths” shared nationwide and proposed to the market, increasingly and more intensely in the late years, by large-scale industrial operators, who in this manner simulate and menace small-scale producers (those actually in the right to claim this tradition as their own). Previous work in the anthropology of consumption has theorized that commercial communication associated with tradition-brands represents a space of negotiation between the Big Industry and traditionalist consumers. The present paper resumes, after more than a decade, the previous thesis, with Mark Fisher's conflict theory tools. In this perspective, traditional brands are forms of Big Industry colonization and naturalization of artisan culture. The case analysis of the Matache Măcelaruʼ charcuterie brand reveals multiple levels of realist-capitalist processing of the commercial message. The key understanding of Fisher's theory of consumerism as a sensitive interface between the capitalist system and the public leads to sharp conclusions about the alienation and disintegration of social actors (consumers, small artisans and merchants) and about the removal of small businesses from the current economic landscape. The possibility of a breach in capitalist totalitarianism lies, hypothetically, in the Romanian public's inertia towards globalization. A conscious reaction is also needed, which arises from civic initiatives regarding the realization of a short producer-consumer chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of logos takes on a new and interesting connotation through Christian revelation. The logos—word, discourse, reason—becomes human-divine flesh. Moreover, God, who is Word, needs human words to explain and reveal himself to human beings. In so doing, God lowers himself to the human level, thus becoming manipulable, but at the same time, he makes human words and, consequently, human beings greater and of higher dignity. As a result, the human person becomes the giver of language to the one who allows him to speak. In this paper, I will highlight the consequences of a logos becoming flesh for anthropology, following the line of thought of Klaus Hemmerle. In particular, I will focus on Hemmerle's trinitarian perspective and his phenomenology of language as a means for explaining Christian revelation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on scholarly works that are both ethnographically-based (such as Stephen Levinson and Elinor Ochs’s) and socially-based (such as Jacob Mey and Joana Pinto’s), this paper takes a particular stance on linguistic pragmatics. Originally named by Peirce and established as a perspective – rather than a discipline – pragmatics gathers researches from different traditions around the world. In departmental terms, people working on language from a pragmatic perspective may be affiliated with areas such as sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, applied linguistics, neurolinguistics, etc., yet a family resemblance unites them: pragmatics seen as social science, which stands for both a field ethnographically oriented to the role, ideologies and agency of language users, and science “in society,” politically situated. The paper revisits language ethnographies in Oceania and Africa, in addition to semantically-oriented scholarship. I conclude, with Rajagopalan, that a diversity of problems investigated in pragmatics are refinements from subjects’ situated action [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper rekindles a three-decade-old debate in the annals of Indian anthropology / sociology which became dormant after no significant headway was made. The debate which goes by the name of "crisis in sociology" in India provides the backdrop against which the paper makes sense of current regimes of knowledge production that a doctoral candidate in India must navigate. By doing so, the paper reflects on the limitations of epistemological critiques wherein an epistemic critique stops at the corridors of an academic workplace. The paper argues that doctoral candidates in India today are cognitive workers engaged in exploitative relations of knowledge production. However, these exploitative relations are obfuscated by the postcolonial epistemological critiques that indulge in foregrounding the hegemony of the North / West. The paper proposes an infrastructural critique of knowledge that does not respond with despair to perceived transformations and crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship is considered a vital venture for economic growth and generates economic growth, jobs, and wealth. It is adopted by people from different parts of the world irrespective of the difference in culture, race, ethnicity, religion and caste. The present paper aims to explore and examine socio-cultural factors of entrepreneurship development and the entrepreneurs' challenges. This is an anthropological case study on traditional and modern entrepreneurship among the Bodo tribe of Assam, Northeast India. The study deals with the micro and small enterprises that are adopting the simple idea of organizing the business within their social relationships. Moreover, the paper examines these entrepreneurs' problems and issues concerning entrepreneurship even though strict governmental provisions and schemes for entrepreneurship development are available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The safety of highly aggregated tourist crowds is a challenging and important issue. This paper not only provided a comprehensive analysis of the accidents of highly aggregated tourist crowds but also determined the occurrence mechanism and coping paths. Based on the analysis of multiple cases, we found that the variable status of highly aggregated tourist crowds was the result of the interaction of three main elements: multisource pressure, state mutations and management responses. A series of factors interact and result in accidents, and the lack of a management response or a low-quality management response is the root cause of such accidents. A high-quality management response is a basic safety precaution for highly aggregated tourist crowds. Therefore, forming a virtuous circle of multisource pressure, state mutations and management responses is an effective path for coping with accidents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts on anthropology topics including the prehistoric soapstone vessel quarry in Northern Tallapoosa County, Alabama, the archaeology of the French bakery and Palisade at 18th century Fort Tombecbe and the early iron industry in Alabama.

All different sciences are defined in a specific way. It is not enough to define anthropology as a science that has studied human beings at all times and all places. It is the methodology of anthropology that is unique and increasingly appreciated by other fields. With the spread of COVID-19, as displacement became a problem, for the researcher and for those s/he had to be with, this methodology was temporarily put into question: social media or simply telephone contacts to gather data was used. The collection of articles in this issue reconfirms that it is through participant observation that the researcher can diligently and exhaustively study a topic or shine new light upon well-studied topics. Our topics are varied this time, some papers are from different fields, our methodology remains the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are many competent voices who estimate that in recent years ecumenism has been going through a crisis. Concern for ecumenical dialogue is becoming secondary for many theologians or members of the clergy, including hierarchs, who are preoccupied almost exclusively with addressing the problems facing their local and confessional communities. As a result, receptivity to ecumenical dialogue and cooperation is even lower among the faithful, who are preoccupied with assessing their own Christian identity in a socio-cultural context marked by rapid change and unprecedented challenges, of which secularism is only one of many. The disappointing assessment of the state of contemporary ecumenism, has led some ecumenists to an effort of identifying solutions for reimagining interconfessional dialogue in an ever-changing world. Theologians from all Christian traditions seek to contribute to identifying ways to unblock the current situation and to propose concrete approaches for rethinking ecumenism for future generations of believers. One of the ways suggested in the literature is to think of ecumenism less in terms of theological agreements, and more in terms of a process of mutual learning, considering that we can receive and offer our gifts in a mutual process, being aware of the need for each community to be open to such a perspective. In this paper, we argue that the constant receptivity to Fr. Dumitru Stăniloae's theology, and to his anthropology in particular, that exists in Western traditions can be an opportunity for revitalising the ecumenical dialogue through the gift exchange model described above. We start from the premise that Fr. Stăniloae's work represents an important gift not just for the Orthodox, but also for many Protestant and Catholic theologians, and we suggest that this direction can produce a reciprocal effect on Orthodox theologians to open up and receive the gifts of Western theology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I propose an anthropological framework for the analysis of sociocultural bounds between pleasure and whispering. To do so, I focus on the cultural practice of listening to online videos called ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) as an assisted sensibility that aimsto elicit pleasurable sensations through whispering and other light sounds. Although the pleasure in whispering refers to an individual experience, the attention to different sensory and sensual practices based on whispering reveals the implications of sonorities in contemporary culturalsensorium, their technological mediations and how they modulate identities, relationships and politics. The phenomenological, sensorial and vocal analysis of social practicesthrough this sonority gives us an account of pleasure as a sensorial disposition where intimacy and memory manifest themselves as sonorous affects and situated vibratory processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Kant inaugurated his critical philosophy treating about formal conditions for the possibilities to solve problems (Critical Philosophy) he advanced in the 1790s to stablish anthropology as the aim of his philosophy. Considering this, our aim is to show that the reception of Kantian philosophy in the 19th and 20th centuries was formalistic and logicist in a way that it has underlined its transcendental aspect when rather it ought to focus on the moral and the pragmatic (in Kantian sense). Thus, the return to Kant promoted by Neokantianism contributed to the forgetfulness and non-thematising the centrality of his Anthropology. It allowed Neokantianism to focus on the conditions for the possibilities of consolidating sciences in the half of 19th century, which has bequeathed to the Kantianism of the 20th century interpretative models of logicist and analytical biases; this left aside any deep reflection on the empirical part of Kant's philosophy as well because it was considered impure. Also, we will point out that the Ethnographic science does not consider for its constitution any heritage from Kant. Finally, it will be statistically proved by means of analysing the centenary historic of Kant Studien Journal that there has been a very low quantity of papers concerned about pragmatic themes. Kant's Anthropology has been forgotten by critical fortune when it should have been treated as central. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When studying unknown human remains, the estimation of skeletal sex and ancestry is paramount to create the victim's biological profile and attempt identification. In this paper, a multidisciplinary approach to infer the sex and biogeographical ancestry of different skeletons, using physical methods and routine forensic markers, is explored. Forensic investigators, thus, encounter two main issues: (1) the use of markers such as STRs that are not the best choice in terms of inferring biogeographical ancestry but are routine forensic markers to identify a person, and (2) the concordance of the physical and molecular results. In addition, a comparison of physical/molecular and then antemortem data (of a subset of individuals that are identified during our research) was evaluated. Antemortem data was particularly beneficial to evaluate the accuracy rates of the biological profiles produced by anthropologists and classification rates obtained by molecular experts using autosomal genetic profiles and multivariate statistical approaches. Our results highlight that physical and molecular analyses are in perfect agreement for sex estimation, but some discrepancies in ancestry estimation were observed in 5 out of 24 cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This book consists of an introduction to the debate in both Polish and English and 12 chapters (papers). It also includes details about the contributors and an index. The papers are written by a dozen or so well-known experts on transhumanism, who come from renowned academic institutions and various research centers. The publication is not only interesting and inspiring, but also forces one to reflect on the nature of man, his essence and the impact of technology on his life, as well as the ethical evaluation of this impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the critical reflections of Jeffrey Barash on the matter of the symbol in the works of Paul Ricoeur. The interpreter, interested mostly in the locus of collective memory that can be found in Memory, History, Forgetting, considers the urge of abandoning Husserl's concept of analogy, used by Ricoeur. For this purpose, he draws our attention to the concept of symbol that Ricoeur avoids developing in the context of the discussion on memory. Consequently, he researches the background of the matter in Freud and Philosophy (1965) and Time and Narrative (1983-1985). In this paper, I will try to show that the course imparted in Chicago in 1975, Lectures on Ideology and Utopia, is the appropriate work to answer from the perspective of symbolism to the problems of the constitution of collective memory through the contribution made by Ricoeur in his work on ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By focusing on the emergence and integration of "hybrid children" (konketsuji) anthropology into the Human Adaptability section of the International Biological Program (HA-IBP) in Japan during the 1950s and 1970s, this paper presents how transnational dynamics and mechanisms played out in shaping and maintaining the racist aspects while simultaneously allowed them to be included in the HA-IBP framework. It argues that Japanese anthropologists operated a double play between their national and transnational spaces, that is, they attenuated racist aspects of their research in their international activities while authenticating race in their national work. This paper will conclude with reflections on the transnational nationalism of konketsuji anthropology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A paper dedicated to the identification of a Polish soldier from the 1st Armoured Division under the command of General Stanisław Maczek, who fell in 1944 in Normandy, during World War II. The remains were found at the Urville-Langannerie Polish War Cemetery. A team from the Department of Forensic Genetics at the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, commissioned by the Ministry of Culture Heritage and Sport, exhumed the remains in order to carry out genetic identification tests. A comprehensive anthropological analysis of the heavily degraded remains was carried out, and biological samples were secured for genetic testing. The identification of Jan Dusza is the first case of restoring the identity of an active combatant from the First Armoured Division. In the case analysis, the analysis of mitochondrial DNA in highly degraded biological material proved crucial. Genetic studies decided to reject the original historical hypothesis No. I at their preliminary stage. Regarding hypothesis No. II, a comprehensive genetic analysis of mitochondrial and autosomal DNA was carried out. Comparative material was obtained from the alleged victim's sister. Thanks to the analysis of kinship in the maternal line based on the mtDNA haplotype, it was possible to establish that the remains belong to Jan Dusza, who served in the Podhale Rifle Battalion, part of the Polish 1st Armoured Division. The research was co-financed by the Polish Ministry of Heritage and National Culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shipbuilding is inherently a social process involving numerous craftsmen utilizing their knowledge and skills while working together to produce a complex machine. The construction of a ship traditionally relies on a stratified apprenticeship system that entails a master teaching apprentices their trade. In this type of setting, the shipyard becomes the classroom where the younger generations learn and mimic mannerisms from their instructors. The development of this technique is considered an individual practice, which, with other construction methodologies and shared interactions, becomes social structures within a specific society. Repetition of this type of practice may reaffirm the existing structure, which in this article relates to various communities of shipbuilders. This paper addresses shipbuilding's social perspective through an operational process based on surviving shipwreck timbers. Two case studies are addressed: Mediterranean shipbuilding between the Medieval and Modern periods and a case study of late 17th-century French shipbuilding social organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Animality's Problematic Place in Ortega's Philosophy". This paper discusses a problem of great actuality in contemporary philosophy: the understanding of animal being and its relationship with human being. It analyses, specifically, the way in which this problem is addressed by the Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset, one of the first authors who deals with this issue as a specific and recurring theme in the context of his own thought. I show how Ortega arrives to this problem, which intellectual influences are behind his approach to the cluster of difficulties around the animal, and what place does this issue have in the context of Ortega's general philosophical proposal. As a conclusion, I suggest that Ortega's thought --as it is the case with many of the most relevant authors of the 20th Century-- is marked by his considerations on animals; and that his ideas could still be fruitful when studying important problems concerning the status and the significance of the animal condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore distinct notions of heritage and security from a bottom-up and decolonial line of action and contributes to the production of knowledge within anthropology by pointing to a conceptual and empirical connection between heritage and security. This study examines this intersection by using the methodological approach of comparative ethnography. This intersection offers an insight into a decolonial approach, critical perspective, and constructivist paradigm from the proposed framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of the article is the original sin, the sin of the first people - Adam and Eve - in the Orthodox tradition called the fall, corruption or most often the sin of the first parents. This fateful event, which took place at the dawn of human history, brought about repercussions that humanity still feels today. Over the centuries, the concept of the fall of Adam and Eve has given rise to many different concepts. The article deals with the concept of original sin according to the teaching of the Orthodox Church and presents the views of the Fathers of the Church and church writers on the act of creation of man, the state of man before the fall and the characteristics of the created human nature. Man created in the image and likeness of God failed to achieve the intended goal, which was divinization, which ultimately led to the fall. The fall brought about the mortality of man, which in turn gave all mankind the certain consequences of original sin itself. This has given rise to polemics over the centuries. Unlike the views of Western theologians such as St. Augustine, the creator of the doctrine of the heredity of original sin, Christian east according to Church Fathers as well as contemporary theologians has always held the position that the sin of the first parents is a personal sin of Adam and Eve, and their descendants only inherit its effects. The purpose of this paper is to show a different concept on the fall of the first people and to present an alternative point of view on the state of man after the fall, as well as to explain the discrepancies, among others, regarding the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is not recognized by the Orthodox Church. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past few decades have witnessed a proliferation of large comparative cultural databases, primarily consisting of contemporary data (e.g., ethnographic writings), but increasingly historical data as well (including archaeological materials). Individually, these databases already serve as valuable resources as evidenced by the growing number of papers utilizing them. However, further benefits could result from merging or linking these data in ways that surpass their original intentions and ambitions. One avenue is the integration of ethnographic and historical data to help remedy the weaknesses of each (e.g., by addressing lacunae, imprecision, bias, subjectivity, and unreliability) and draw on their reciprocal strengths (e.g., by combining longitudinal depth and primary source material) of these different forms of evidence. The work presented here is a further step in that direction. This article shows how efforts to quantitatively examine historical variation in features of warfare benefit from combining ethnographic, historical, and archaeological data. It describes the general challenges faced by combining datasets (e.g. units of analyses, differing variables across datasets, sampling issues, etc.), how these challenges can be mitigated, and what further challenges remain to be addressed. The overall aim is to encourage further research into the benefits and challenges of integrating such datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]