Anita von Poser

Care as Process: A Life-course Perspective on the Remaking of Ethics and Values of Care in Daiden, Papua New Guinea

ABSTRACT This article addresses care as a socially, culturally, historically, and politically constituted ‘process’ and relates to ethnographic data gained during long-term anthropological fieldwork in Daiden, a place in the Lower Ramu River area of Papua New Guinea. It focuses in particular on the situation of elderly people as well as on intergenerational shifts. Analytically, the four dimensions of care (caring about, taking care of, care-giving, care-receiving) and their related values (attentiveness, responsibility, competence, responsiveness), as developed within the ‘ethics of care’ framework by feminist scholars are applied in order to delineate the remaking of local ethics of care in the face of wider contemporary societal transformations. By means of a ‘life-course perspective’ the article aims to shed light on the ways in which such a remaking has been perceived and evaluated in Daiden, thus augmenting the idea of care as a process rather than as a natural and/or atemporal disposition. The article also tackles pressing social welfare issues in contemporary Papua New Guinea in a more general way.ABSTRACTThis article addresses care as a socially, culturally, historically, and politically constituted ‘process’ and relates to ethnographic data gained during long-term anthropological fieldwork in Daiden, a place in the Lower Ramu River area of Papua New Guinea. It focuses in particular on the situation of elderly people as well as on intergenerational shifts. Analytically, the four dimensions of care (caring about, taking care of, care-giving, care-receiving) and their related values (attentiveness, responsibility, competence, responsiveness), as developed within the ‘ethics of care’ framework by feminist scholars are applied in order to delineate the remaking of local ethics of care in the face of wider contemporary societal transformations. By means of a ‘life-course perspective’ the article aims to shed light on the ways in which such a remaking has been perceived and evaluated in Daiden, thus augmenting the idea of care as a process rather than as a natural and/or atemporal disposition. The artic...

Data management in anthropology: the next phase in ethics governance?

Recent demands for accountability in ‘data management’ by funding agencies, universities, international journals and other academic institutions have worried many anthropologists and ethnographers. While their demands for transparency and integrity in opening up data for scrutiny seem to enhance scientific integrity, such principles do not always consider the way the social relationships of research are properly maintained. As a springboard, the present Forum, triggered by such recent demands to account for the use of ‘data’, discusses the present state of anthropological research and academic ethics/integrity in a broader perspective. It specifically gives voice to our disciplinary concerns and leads to a principled statement that clarifies a particularly ethnographic position. This position is then discussed by several commentators who treat its viability and necessity against the background of wider developments in anthropology – sustaining the original insight that in ethnography, research materials have been co‐produced before they become commoditised into ‘data’. Finally, in moving beyond such a position, the Forum broadens the issue to the point where other methodologies and forms of ownership of research materials will also need consideration.

Public attitude towards restrictions on persons with mental illness in greater Hanoi area, Vietnam:

Background and Aims: In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the need to protect human rights in psychiatry. Within the last years, considerable effort has been made to reduce restrictive measures in mental health settings. Reducing restrictive measures within mental health care has also moved increasingly into the focus of public debate. This study aims, for the first time in a Southeast Asian sample, to explore whether socio-demographic factors affect public attitudes toward restrictions on mentally ill people in Hanoi, Vietnam. Methods: A general population-based survey (self-report questionnaire) was carried out in 2013 in the greater Hanoi area. The survey sample (N = 813) was recruited according to the latest published census (2009) and micro-census (2013) in Vietnam and Hanoi with regard to the socio-demographic factors gender, age, urbanity, household size and marital status. Multinomial logistic regressions for odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to examine the influence of epidemiological variables, like gender and age, on the public attitude toward restrictions imposed on mentally ill people in Vietnam. Results: This study found, for the first time in a large Vietnamese sample, that gender and age were associated with public attitudes toward restrictions on mentally ill people. In detail, significantly fewer men endorsed compulsory admission to a hospital and abortion than Vietnamese women. In addition, endorsement of abortion was significantly higher in older people. Conclusion: The results offer some insight into roles of women in the Vietnamese society and might reflect the traditional gender expectations in Vietnamese families. Moreover, the results emphasize the need for supporting female psychiatric patients and their families within their communities and in the Vietnamese society.

Acculturation and severity of depression among first-generation Vietnamese outpatients in Germany

Background: Challenges of migration, particularly concerning the process of acculturation are associated with an increased risk of mental illness. Vietnamese migrants constitute the largest Southeast Asian migrant group in Germany, yet there is no data on the relationship between the mental health status and acculturation among this population. Aims: Therefore, the present study examines the relationship between two well-established dimensions of acculturation, that is, dominant society immersion (DSI) and ethnic society immersion (ESI), the four resulting acculturation strategies (integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization), and severity of depression. Methods: A sample of N = 113 first-generation Vietnamese outpatients from a psychiatric outpatient clinic for Vietnamese migrants in Germany was studied regarding their self-reported depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II)) and acculturation (Stephenson Multigroup Acculturation Scale (SMAS)). Results: Consistent with the hypotheses, patients reported less severe depressive symptoms, when they reported higher orientation toward the German and the Vietnamese society. Moreover, the results showed that integrated patients reported a lower severity of depression compared to marginalized patients, who reported the highest severity of depression. Conclusions: The findings indicate that among a sample of first-generation Vietnamese patients with depression, an orientation to both, the mainstream society and one’s heritage society might serve as a potential resource. The rejection of any orientation to any society is associated with an increased risk for depression.