ANTHMETHGRP4-2425-REI-KANSAKU

[Last modified: November, 29 2024 06:09 PM]

The Anthropology Ethics Committee would like to suggest the following improvements for your ethics application “Collection and use of data by HIV specialist midwives”:

 

First, pay attention to whether the research subjects are ethically treated. Your interviewees are your colleagues. Therefore, you must be careful about anonymity. In particular, when writing down comments from people who have a negative impression of HIV-positive women and their babies, you should be careful not to identify who commented. Even if you do not write who commented, if your colleague reads what you wrote, they may be aware that there is a colleague who has a negative impression, which may affect the atmosphere in the workplace. Therefore, you should consult with your workplace superiors about what kind of comments you should be careful about.

 

Next, pay attention to the interpersonal relationships between the subjects. In your research application, you plan to collect people’s opinions in two different positions: midwives and administrative staff. If different views are collected, you should get an agreement before starting the interviews on whether you will inform each other or not. In a workplace where people are in different positions, they may be dissatisfied with those in other positions, leading to the deterioration of interpersonal relationships. It would help to ask your superiors for their opinions on what may cause problems.

 

Finally, be mindful of whether you yourself are under ethical considerations. Midwives may have different opinions about HIV-positive women. Some may be sympathetic, while others may be critical, depending on the route of infection. You must be careful not to let such differences in opinion lead to conflicts. Be cautious in your conversations to avoid hurting people with different views. It is also essential to make them understand why you are doing this study, as it will make it easier for them to work after the study. In particular, you should be aware of your position as both a researcher and a colleague of the subjects. This research may introduce the least conflicts if you keep an objective perspective and avoid personal feelings.

 

In this type of research, the key to conducting good research is to ensure that your university supervisor and workplace superiors understand the purpose of the study and provide appropriate cooperation.

[Last modified: November, 23 2024 11:32 PM]

In today’s tutorial, we learned how to incorporate games and acting into anthropological research, observation, and intervention.

In the first act, a male and a female classmate held hands and looked at each other. I thought that the female was trying to figure out what the male was thinking because she stood with her back slightly arched and looking up at him, but it was hard to guess whether they were in the same stance or the male was in a superior stance. In the next act, two female classmates had their arms folded and their backs turned to each other. Judging from their facial expressions, one had completely turned her face away while the other turned around to look at her. One seemed angry and was waiting for the other to apologize.

In the third act, a man sat on the floor with his knees hugged, and a woman leaned against a pillar with her arms folded, watching him. The man’s posture and facial expression made me think he was pretending to be a child. The man glanced at the woman but made no move. This is common when children are trying to get their parents to listen. The mother is probably waiting for the child to give up. But then, a third classmate joined in. She suddenly lay on the floor and stopped moving with an unnatural posture. One classmate guessed it was a murder scene. We learnt that the observation results can change when other people join in. The last performance was about trouble at a cafe, but I will not include it in this essay.

I also observed classmates watching the performance, not just the performance. I noticed that some classmates expressed confusion. They did not share their opinions during the discussion. I guess they could not decide what to do because it was their first time seeing the acting technique. The tutor sat among the observers, and she might notice the confused students. The final explanation in the class was probably intended to help such students understand. Unfortunately, because today was a different class than usual, my stance was “a student who doesn’t usually exist,” and I missed the opportunity to ask the honest thoughts of the troubled-looking students.

[Last modified: November, 17 2024 09:20 AM]

As an assignment for the anthropological method module, I write about the drought proposal of my research.

 

My current focus is on the “happiness of UK citizens”, a topic of significant importance. Given my extensive work in public health worldwide, I am particularly intrigued by those who receive financial and social benefits. Recent research has emphasised the importance of happiness. As a medical doctor, I have come to understand that people do not just desire longer or healthier lives but happier ones. However, poverty often stands as a significant barrier to happiness. This is why I’m keen on exploring the happiness of individuals under social support in the UK.

 

Second, the research question could be, “How do people find happiness in their daily lives?”. It is too broad, and I should focus on a more narrow question, but I need to do a preliminary survey. “Art and health” has become a big topic in the public health area in the context of culture and health after the World Health Organization WHO Europe office proposed that idea. So, art therapy could be a candidate for the part of the research questions.

 

Third, the interview of the objective people looked like the ideal method, but it may be difficult for a master course student due to ethical approval. Then, I will analyse recorded videos of art therapy sessions. In this case, the choice of video could cause the most prominent biases. Increasing the number of videos, choosing different backgrounds or varying session results, such as failure or success of treatment, may decrease the biases.

 

Finally, this research’s potential findings could be concrete art therapy techniques. We could uncover approaches in art therapy that can significantly improve people’s happiness. The intended audience for this research includes art therapists, civil servants in public health, and health policymakers. By equipping them with more treatment methods, we can enhance the well-being of residents and patients.

 

As the limitation of this study, it’s important to note that while art therapy can bring people happiness, this is not the primary goal of public health. The goal should be set in each situation, and continuous observation, reevaluation, and adjustment goals are necessary. In public health, we must balance the needs and perspectives of residents, patients, workers, and taxpayers. This understanding will guide our research and ensure our findings are relevant and beneficial to all stakeholders.

 

(This is a repost of week 1 for practice)

[Last modified: November, 17 2024 07:46 AM]

In the classes about the body, I became interested in unwanted physical contact with others. As a Japanese, I am hesitant to hug or shake hands, but in Europe, I understand that refusing them is a denial of intimacy, so I do it. However, there are situations that are even more stressful. That is, commuting on crowded trains. Tokyo, the capital of Japan, where I grew up, is famous for its severe commuter rushes. You may have seen pictures of ‘pushers’, the train company employees who cram people onto the trains. Although I have not seen any ‘pushers’ since the beginning of the 21st century, it is not uncommon for new passengers to board through the doors when it is obvious that they will not be able to get on. So, what does unwanted contact with others on a crowded train mean?

Talking with Japanese friends in Tokyo, I feel that commuting is one of the biggest reasons for the stress of working. However, why do we find unwanted contact with others so burdensome? The most likely reason is the violation of personal space. In other words, we are alarmed as animals when strangers enter areas that should not be threatened by anyone. An unknown person, who may be hostile towards us, is within arm’s reach. Some say that we feel stressed because we have to be prepared for a sudden attack.

On the other hand, there is a kinder opinion: the stress is not that we worry about being attacked but that we are making others uncomfortable. In particular, it is often said that many men in Japan are concerned about whether they are making women uncomfortable by unintentionally touching them on crowded trains. There are well-known episodes of men keeping their hands above their shoulders or hugging their bags while on the train to avoid such situations.

One of the best things I have heard about commuter trains is a line from a protagonist of a Japanese manga. He described the train, in which he could not move by too many people, as comfortable. He described the vinegary train as being surrounded by swarms of people and feeling happy. If we can trust others this much, our personal space with others may take on a different meaning. For your information, the name of this character is Buddha.

[Last modified: November, 4 2024 02:57 AM]

As my pilot research project, I planned to interview people who receive financial support from the government due to difficulty in working. Through my career as a medical doctor and an adviser for health policymakers, I wanted to know how the UK manages these people’s well-being. If I found good example policies, I would make better advice. I want to research people who need public support because when I worked as a GP in a slam in Japan, I thought people financially supported by governments found it difficult to change their situations. In other words, my project includes a strong political position. So, I must carefully mind my biases.

To adapt my methods to account for political elements, I always need to consider if I’m neutral and ethical. I understand that a one-year master’s course may not be sufficient to fully understand these so-called vulnerable people. I am continuously striving to become more aware of my limitations and understand them. I, a medical doctor from a developed country and an assistant professor of public health at a medical university in Japan, might need help to be trusted by them. Therefore, I am prepared to invest significant time in collecting their ‘true’ opinions.

To be politically neutral, I have to consider whether I’m collecting both positive and negative opinions. Because of my background as a medical doctor and a policy adviser, I may have biases that accept current policies, and the residents who receive public service consider me like that. If I interview someone now, the best interviewees may be people who have similar backgrounds, such as doctors and civil servants. It could escalate biases as health service providers,  but it may be better than to conclude something with incorrect interviews with residents. I am aware of these potential biases and am committed to mitigating them through careful selection of interviewees and open-minded data analysis.

As the one-year master’s course seems too short to understand vulnerable people, what I can do now is try to communicate with people rather than conclude easily. I need to know people more. So I will search for volunteers at the food bank for them. Interviewing the people who work at such NGOs could be helpful. In addition, now I live in a council flat and buy the “cheapest” food with proper nutrition. I hope it helps me to understand people who have difficulties.

[Last modified: October, 27 2024 12:46 AM]

I was between the UCL and Birkbeck campuses. Here, an NGO called Food for All provides free food every Thursday from 9 am to 2 pm. While eating their meal, I observed the staff.

The meals, consisting of spaghetti with stir-fried vegetables, bean stew, and wholemeal bread, were both appetising and nutritionally balanced. Light seasoning, a common practice in the UK, further improved the meal’s health.

The man serving the food was about 40 years old and relatively muscular. His skin was white, and he had a short black beard from both ears to the bottom of his chin. He had a calm expression and often leaned against the back wall, giving a casual impression. A dark blue down vest over a skin-coloured hoodie increased that vibe even though he was about 180 cm tall. We shall refer to him here as ‘the chef’.

The man beside ‘the chef’ was about 70 years old. He was a small white man with short white hair. When I first saw him eating food, I thought he was a customer, but after eating, he started touting, so he appeared to be a staff member. He wore a long knee-length down coat and a colourful blue polo shirt. We shall call him ‘the tout’ here.

They both wore blue medical gloves, which made them look aware of hygiene.

‘The tout’ talked to ‘the chef’ after his meal. They appear to be intimate. In a word, their atmosphere was friendly.

During my 15-minute observation, about 20 customers visited. They were generally young, in their teens to thirties, with an equal number of men and women, some with UCL student ID cards around their necks. Ethnicity varied. All were tidy and did not appear to be that cash-strapped, but no one except me had put money on the table, so real poor people did not need to worry if they also did not pay.

On the way in, a white, middle-aged man in a suit without a tie talked to the staff. All-back hair and a microphone on his jacket made him look like a University of London faculty member. He looked familiar with the staff. If the aim was to teach students that eating free food is nothing special, then it is understandable why the NGO gave free food to someone who seemed to have money to spend.

(393 words)

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Writing assignment:

Based on your notes, write a 400 text that renders the atmosphere with emphasis on the main keywords you identified as the most interesting. You can accompany the text with the sketches that you have made while in the field. Reflect on the relation between the experience of taking notes, identifying the main story you want to tell, and on how the notes helped your memory.

[Last modified: October, 20 2024 06:14 PM]

• What is the research question?

–           The happiness of people who are supported by government in the UK

(What is the minimal lives that are assured by the UK government)

 

• What is the particular ethnographic focus?

–           Individual value of happiness.

 

• Why is this of particular interest to them?

– Because the individual values of happiness are base of public health service. If people cannot feel happiness, they never satisfied with health services.

 

< Focus in on why they chose this topic >

• Is it exploring a context or theme that they have personal experience of?

–           Throughout of my experience as a medical doctor and a consultant of global health, I recognise that one of the biggest challenges of public health is a discrepancy of what people want and the health policies. To solve this problem, I want to make clear the individual values on health.

 

• Is it something that they are fascinated by for other reasons?

–           I have been wanting to find the answer to a question “The meaning of lives”

 

• What preconceived ideas are they bringing to this research?

–           My work experience:

Medical Doctor (mainly as a cardiac surgeon)

Professor at a Public Health at a Japanese Medical School

Consultant for Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affaire

–           My personal backgrounds

Educational background (I graduated a medical school and have PhD in medical science)

Financial background (middle class in a developed countries)

Ethnicity and Nationality as a “Japanese”

Gender (Female)

Position in my family (the youngest sister)

–           My preferences

I have been preferring “stability” since I was a child.

 

• Reflect on how their positionality might inform how they conduct research and interpret their findings.

 

–           At least, I have to consider my stance twice. One is if my conclusion is objective from my view. The other is that how readers of my article consider fromw their views.

–           I need to find “the biases from me” and “the biases from others”. For example, Japanese, as a citizen of one of G7 countries, the difference between “the Western culture” and Japan is not that big but that for the UK citizen seems not so small. I guess it depends on the culture of news. I think it is a kind of “valve” of culture. When I write the “anthropological” articles, I need to mind this issue.

 

• Might their lived experience inform the way they interact with their participants?
• Do class, race, gender, sexuality, or other identities inform their approach to the research? Might it offer particular insights?

 

–           It could be. Probably when I research about so-called “vulnerable” people, showing my vulnerable background like “Asian” “Female” “Immigrant” “who cannot use English well” support to get efficient information from subjects.

 

• How might this inform the interpretation of data?

–           It could influence strongly to my research. I need to discuss about analyses. At least, If I publish English articles, I need to imagine how Western readers understand them. (Even if they don’t consider how non-Westerners consider their articles when they publish their articles ).

[Last modified: October, 13 2024 11:31 PM]

I was wandering around the campus. I knew that the assignment topic was “observation”, but I couldn’t decide whom to observe. My tentative theme is “Well-being among vulnerable people in the UK”, but who are the vulnerable people?

Then, I talked to two of my master’s course classmates in medical anthropology in a crowd of students. As a “Shy Shy Japanese”, I hesitate to talk to unknown students.

One of my classmates, “J”, came to the UK from the Czech Republic about 15 years ago and is currently working as a tour guide. She has published three books. She always talks calmly, and I feel her confidence with deep knowledge.

The background of the other classmate, “F”, is a bit complicated. I once asked him, “Are you British?” He clammed up and said, “I was born in the UK, but my parents are from Africa”.

After we parted, I met up with another classmate, “S”, who also had no direction for the assignment.

“S” is an international student from China, a nurse and has experience volunteering in rural China.

“Let’s go to SOAS to look for ideas” was “S”  ‘s suggestion.

As we walk around, we talk about the education system and language barriers since we came to the UK. As we talked, we discovered our own vulnerability as immigrants, confused in front of the differences in the education system and the language barrier. Do people notice that sometimes only “Westerners” participate in discussions in classrooms? Do people notice that some international students hesitate to join if they feel a limitation in their English skills?

“I’ll try to talk to the Chinese people.”

“S” said in a student space in SOAS. I thought that she was also a “Shy Shy Chinese”.

“What about that person? She looks Chinese.”

“No, she’s talking with her friend. I don’t want to disturb her.”

During the course that started two weeks ago, I noticed that “S” is a very attentive person. Whether this is related to her background as a young female Chinese nurse is hard to determine.

Eventually, “S” approached “J”, a young female Chinese student who was warming up her lunch. Surprisingly, she was also a master’s student in anthropology. “J” ‘s lunch box was a metal two-tier with a cute pastel-coloured character printed on it. I thought it was a popular taste in China and Japan, but metal lunch boxes are not that common in Japan. Japanese often use plastic lunch boxes.

‘”J” said, “Do you want to talk over there if you want?” and pointed to one of the tables. This was the table we avoided to disturb them. She introduced us to her friends, both of whom were also anthropology students.

“Z” was a student from Eastern Europe. She had studied the basics of anthropology, so she was very helpful in teaching “S” and me, who had entered the masters course without having studied them. “Z” was in her fourth year of undergraduate studies, and I asked her, “What are you going to do after graduation?” She replied, “I haven’t decided. I have to do something with the money…”. She seemed to be worried.

Although it is questionable whether this was a successful observation exercise, it was at least a great benefit to have made fellow anthropology students at another university.

(552 words: too long)

—

Task: Writing Exercise

Write a short (400 word) ethnographic ‘vignette’ based on your observation exercise.

Tell a story that you encountered in the field, describe the situation, what happened, why is it linked to your research topic etc. You can include audio, visual or other materials. Try and write in such a way as to convey the experience of ‘being there’ to the reader.

[Last modified: October, 13 2024 11:24 PM]

Topic: The discrepancy between generals’ needs and health policies

Title: Health needs of households on welfare in the UK – An Anthropological Analysis

Research Questions:
1. Does the current health policy meet the health needs of households on welfare in the UK?
2. Are the needs of households on welfare different from those of the other citizens?
3. What is the challenge between the needs and the reality?

Significance of the research:
1. Since welfare households may have limited problem-solving skills, the administration must be intentional in supporting them
2. The livelihoods of welfare households depend on the minimum needs the government assumes, so the government must adequately understand their needs.

Methods:
1. Document Retrievals
Official documents by the UK (Central / Local) Government
Journal Articles and Books: Analysis of health policy in the UK

2. Participant Observation
Objects: People of households on welfare, leader(s) of them, GPs, civil servants

Place: Home visit / GP clinics / Local Government
(Audio recording with acceptance)
(Photography with acceptance)
(Note-taking)

Interviews:
the needs for health service (open questions)
the reason for their thought (their history & philosophy (individual values))
(GPs & civil servants: difference between households on welfare and others)

3. Analysis
Make clear the differences between individuals
Comparison with Japan, if possible

[Last modified: October, 1 2024 06:27 PM]

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