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Societies, Volume 3, Issue 2 (June 2013) – 7 articles , Pages 158-260

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228 KiB  
Article
The Meaning of Health, Well-Being, and Quality of Life Perceived by Roma People in West Sweden
by Leena Eklund Karlsson, Kristine Crondahl, Fredrik Sunnemark and Åsa Andersson
Societies 2013, 3(2), 243-260; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc3020243 - 10 Jun 2013
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 7594
Abstract
Many Roma people in Sweden are on the margins of society and face problems of social exclusion, institutional discrimination, low education, unemployment, and poor health. The aim is to describe how a group of Roma people, in West Sweden, understand health, well-being, and [...] Read more.
Many Roma people in Sweden are on the margins of society and face problems of social exclusion, institutional discrimination, low education, unemployment, and poor health. The aim is to describe how a group of Roma people, in West Sweden, understand health, well-being, and quality of life within the Roma context, and how they cope with their life-situation. Data consisted of qualitative interviews. The data were analyzed qualitatively using a phenomenological hermeneutic approach. The respondents mainly understood the concept of Health as “being healthy” and “feeling good”. Elements that were crucial part of the respondents’ health perception were being employed, having an education, social support from family and friends, freedom and security, and the extent of involvement in society. The results indicate that the respondents perceive their health and life situation as good, despite of their marginalized situation and discrimination. Full article
1138 KiB  
Article
“Not Really a Musical Instrument?” Locating the Gumleaf as Acoustic Actant and Environmental Icon
by Robin Ryan
Societies 2013, 3(2), 224-242; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc3020224 - 29 May 2013
Cited by 57 | Viewed by 9412
Abstract
Leaf instruments have occupied a post-European contact role in constituting Australian societal networks, and their epistemologies reflect native/exotic binaries in the species selected by Indigenous and non-Indigenous musicians respectively. Accordingly, this essay examines some musical applications of native plant populations in the construction [...] Read more.
Leaf instruments have occupied a post-European contact role in constituting Australian societal networks, and their epistemologies reflect native/exotic binaries in the species selected by Indigenous and non-Indigenous musicians respectively. Accordingly, this essay examines some musical applications of native plant populations in the construction of arboreally-based cultural heritages and social traditions in the southeastern Aboriginal societies. In a broad characterisation of the practices of Indigenous leaf players (“leafists”), it extends the actor-network framework of “reaching out to a plant” established by John C. Ryan in 2012. When leafists play tunes on plants—either at their own source, or on leaves intentionally plucked for performance—music furnishes an intimate and vital part of their reflection to and from the nonhuman world. The author conceptualises eucalypt leaf instruments (“gumleaves”) as actants and iconic sensors of place, providing further evidence for their role as conduits between land and people in some cultural blendings and positionings with art, drama, and poetry. This interrogation of confluences between musicians and Australian land and plants works towards more nuanced understandings of the complex interlinked systems of music, ecology, nature, and societies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking the Vegetal: Emerging Perspectives on Plants and Society)
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142 KiB  
Article
Knowing Apples
by Lorraine Shannon
Societies 2013, 3(2), 217-223; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc3020217 - 24 May 2013
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4708
Abstract
This essay employs a first-person fictional narrator to explore the nature of human-plant relations through the example of Thoreau’s Wild Apples and enacts the transformational process necessary to write in conjunction with non-conscious vegetal life by paying attention to the unthought known of [...] Read more.
This essay employs a first-person fictional narrator to explore the nature of human-plant relations through the example of Thoreau’s Wild Apples and enacts the transformational process necessary to write in conjunction with non-conscious vegetal life by paying attention to the unthought known of the vegetative soul. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking the Vegetal: Emerging Perspectives on Plants and Society)
117 KiB  
Article
Improving Early Detection of Refugee-Related Stress Symptoms: Evaluation of an Inter-Professional and Inter-Cultural Skills Training Course in Sweden
by Solvig Ekblad, Maria Carlén and Christina Hägglöf
Societies 2013, 3(2), 204-216; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc3020204 - 08 May 2013
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 5478
Abstract
Twenty-three of 26 participants, mainly women from six local agencies involved in the reception of refugees, completed a university course titled “Refugee-related stress and mental health—local cooperation”, which was spread over seven days in 2011. The course was based on evidence and clinical [...] Read more.
Twenty-three of 26 participants, mainly women from six local agencies involved in the reception of refugees, completed a university course titled “Refugee-related stress and mental health—local cooperation”, which was spread over seven days in 2011. The course was based on evidence and clinical experience and was commissioned to serve as competency training by Stockholm County Council and Södertälje Municipality. It received funding from the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare. It was a continuation of an earlier one-week full-time university course from 2010 with the same title. As a result of a new law relating to refugee reception, which led to organizational change, the participants requested a continuation of the original course. The learning objectives were met (5.4 on a 6-point scale; 1 = strongly disagree, 6 = strongly agree). The general assessment of the course as a whole by the participants was 5.7 (on a 6-point scale, 1 = very unsatisfied, 6 = very satisfied). The participants thought that their skills had increased, and their perception was that they had significantly better control of their work situation following completion of the course. The most important findings were that participants from different agencies at the local level: (1) perceived that they had developed the sense that there was a local inter-cultural and inter-professional inter-agency collaboration in the reception of newly arrived refugees and (2) will continue efforts to stabilize and develop this together. This method of teaching, in terms of skills training, is not a “quick fix.” It is a process, and it needs support from those in power in order to continue. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue War/Wars and Society)
283 KiB  
Article
Between Critical and Uncritical Understandings: A Case Study Analyzing the Claims of Islamophobia Made in the Context of the Proposed ‘Super-Mosque’ in Dudley, England
by Chris Allen
Societies 2013, 3(2), 186-203; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc3020186 - 29 Apr 2013
Cited by 30 | Viewed by 8611
Abstract
Research highlights how usage and claims of Islamophobia tend to be simplistic and without nuance. Using a case study approach, this article considers the claims of Islamophobia made in relation to the proposed Dudley ‘super-mosque’. Setting out a narrative of the ‘super-mosque’, this [...] Read more.
Research highlights how usage and claims of Islamophobia tend to be simplistic and without nuance. Using a case study approach, this article considers the claims of Islamophobia made in relation to the proposed Dudley ‘super-mosque’. Setting out a narrative of the ‘super-mosque’, this article draws upon primary and secondary research to consider the claims and discourses of the major actors in the Dudley setting: the Dudley Muslim Association, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, the far-right especially the British National Party and the English Defence League, as well as individual political figures. Considering each in detail, this article seeks to evaluate the extent to which each of the actors and the claims of Islamophobia made against them might be valid. As well as exploring claims of Islamophobia within a ‘real’ environment, this article seeks to critically engage the opposition shown towards the mosque, the way in which the opposition campaigns were mobilized and engineered, and how the ideological meanings of Islamophobia was able to be readily utilized to validate and justify such opposition. In doing so, this article concludes that the claims and usage of Islamophobia was weak and that a more critical and nuanced usage of the term is urgently required. Full article
183 KiB  
Article
Negotiating Deaf Bodies and Corporeal Experiences: The Cybernetic Deaf Subject
by Thomas P. Horejes and Christopher J. Heuer
Societies 2013, 3(2), 170-185; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc3020170 - 15 Apr 2013
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 7124
Abstract
Deaf people negotiate their embodiment through corporeal experiences to provide a perception of what it means to be human. Some deaf people search for a framework where being deaf is human, not a disability. Other deaf people experience their deafness as a disability [...] Read more.
Deaf people negotiate their embodiment through corporeal experiences to provide a perception of what it means to be human. Some deaf people search for a framework where being deaf is human, not a disability. Other deaf people experience their deafness as a disability and use technology as a means to negotiate their embodiment and experiences. The role of technology or cybernetics, particularly cochlear implants, for the deaf will be examined as a way to understand cultural identities and diverse ideological perspectives concerning what it means to be deaf and normal. Then, this paper focuses on social constructed ‘bodies’ for the deaf using embodied theory and action as a part of a theoretical framework to showcase theoretical ideas and actualities of some deaf people’s lives and experiences. These discussions are ways to open dialogues and collaborative inquiries on larger important issues such as what it means to be deaf and, in essence, human. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Embodied Action, Embodied Theory: Understanding the Body in Society)
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280 KiB  
Article
A War of Words: Do Conflict Metaphors Affect Beliefs about Managing “Unwanted” Plants?
by Cameron G. Nay and Mark W. Brunson
Societies 2013, 3(2), 158-169; https://doi.org/10.3390/soc3020158 - 26 Mar 2013
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 5632
Abstract
Woody plants have increased in density and extent in rangelands worldwide since the 1800s, and land managers increasingly remove woodland plants in hopes of restoring pre-settlement conditions and/or improved forage for grazing livestock. Because such efforts can be controversial, especially on publicly owned [...] Read more.
Woody plants have increased in density and extent in rangelands worldwide since the 1800s, and land managers increasingly remove woodland plants in hopes of restoring pre-settlement conditions and/or improved forage for grazing livestock. Because such efforts can be controversial, especially on publicly owned lands, managers often attempt to frame issues in ways they believe can improve public acceptance of proposed actions. Frequently these framing efforts employ conflict metaphors drawn from military or legal lexicons. We surveyed citizens in the Rocky Mountains region, USA, about their beliefs concerning tree-removal as a management strategy. Plants targeted for removal in the region include such iconic tree species as Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine as well as other less-valued species, such as Rocky Mountain juniper, that are common targets for removal nationwide. To test the influence of issue frame on acceptance, recipients were randomly assigned surveys in which the reason for conifer removal was described using one of three terms often employed by invasive biologists and land managers: “invasion”, “expansion”, and “encroachment”. Framing in this instance had little effect on responses. We conclude the use of single-word frames by scientists and managers use to contextualize an issue may not resonate with the public. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking the Vegetal: Emerging Perspectives on Plants and Society)
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