Louise Lamphere

Structuring diversity : ethnographic perspectives on the new immigration

Through ethnographic research, sociologists and anthropologists explore the interaction of Americas newcomers with established residents in six cities. Their analysis highlights the importance of class and power as immigrants interact in the workplace, at home, at school, and in community organizations.

Sunbelt working mothers : reconciling family and factory

Substituted hydroxylamines exhibit activity as anti-oxidants for a diverse group of substrate materials under specific conditions of exposure to an oxidizing environment. Illustrative embodiments of substituted hydroxylamine anti-oxidants are bis(p-nitrobenzyl)hydroxylamine and 2-diethylamino-4,6,-bis(N-n-propyl-N-hydroxyamino)-s-triazine.

The perils and prospects for an engaged anthropology. A view from the United States

In this article I will argue for the vital importance and urgent need for an engaged anthropology. There are a host of critical social issues that anthropologists are currently researching where our qualitative methodologies, in-depth field research, and knowledge of local languages and cultures give us vital insights into the sources of social problems and also potential remedies for some very pressing societal dilemmas. In the United States we have come to realise that we need to do three things as we become increasingly engaged with the world: first, transform our relations with the public in order to overcome entrenched stereotypes and foster current images that accurately depict anthropology today; second, continue to change our relations with the communities we work with, by attending to their concerns in formulating research questions and by viewing them as equal partners in carrying out research and educational activities; and third, work out effective ways of doing research on critical social issues that will expand the influence of anthropology in political arenas and policy debates. Engaging with policy experts, the public and the press can have its perilous side since we have to communicate our research findings more effectively and to overcome public perceptions about who anthropologists are and what we do. The public holds stereotypes of cultural anthropology, condensed images that reduce our work to what Micaela di Leonardo has termed ‘Halloween costumes’ (Di Leonardo 1998: 31). Many of these are images that are based on anthropology’s occupation of what Rolph Trouillot calls the ‘savage slot’ (Trouillot 1991), in other words the niche that the discipline long ago carved out for itself as the scientists who study the ‘primitives’. In the past we have been complicit in constructing at least one of these costumes: the one di Leonardo labels as ‘noble savage/noble anthropologist’ (1988: 32–6). In other words, American anthropologists in the past often preferred to portray themselves as studying primitive cultures for what they could learn about their own contrasting customs better to understand or even reform themselves. The prototype of this trope is Margaret Mead’s Coming of age in Samoa (1928), in which Mead used an analysis of Samoan adolescence to critique American ways of dealing with puberty. But there are other stereotypes that many of us would reject. For example, there is the charge that anthropologists are really ‘barbarians at the gate’ (Di Leonardo 1988: 40–3). In this stereotype, anthropologists are viewed as those who over-value the practices of other cultures, hawking cultural relativism to naive undergraduates and by implication denigrating the classics and western civilisation. This is a perspective often promulgated

Transforming Administrative and Clinical Practice in a Public Behavioral Health System: An Ethnographic Assessment of the Context of Change

In July 2005, New Mexico placed all publicly funded behavioral health services under the management of one private corporation. This reform emphasized the provision of evidence-based, culturally competent services. Methods. Participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 189 administrators, staff, and providers were carried out in 14 behavioral health safety-net institutions (SNIs) during the transition period. Results. New administrative requirements led to substantial paperwork demands, payment problems, and financial stress within SNIs. Personnel at the SNIs often lacked knowledge about and training in evidence-based practices and culturally competent care, and viewed the costs of delivering such services as prohibitive. Discussion. Policymakers must account for the challenges that SNIs face as the reform continues to unfold. The financial stability of SNIs is of critical importance. Efforts are needed to increase training and development opportunities in evidence-based care and cultural competency; SNIs typically lack resources to pursue these opportunities on their own.

Historical and Regional Variability in Navajo Women's Roles

Data from Navajo community studies over the last fifty years allow us to go beyond global statements about the status of Navajo women to a more historically nuanced analysis of variability in womens roles. Focusing on the gender division of labor and female exchange networks, this paper documents community variation within and between areas studied during this time period. Variation has increased dramatically with the incorporation of Navajo women into a capitalist wage economy. Depending on the viability of a livestock economy, residence choice, and the size of female sibling sets, women in rural areas might forge strong female-dominated networks or be relatively isolated. In urban areas, some women have professional jobs, large networks, and substantial ties to the reservation, while others have low-wage jobs and are more dependent on husbands, isolated from kin, or supporting children as single parents. The overall outcome of Navajo incorporation into the larger economy has been to create more diversity in womens situations and a tendency towards polarization along class lines.

The Impact of State Behavioral Health Reform on Native American Individuals, Families, and Communities

In 2005, the State of New Mexico undertook a sweeping transformation of all publicly funded behavioral health services. The reform was intended to enhance the cultural responsiveness and appropriateness of these services. To examine achievement of this objective, we conducted a qualitative study of the involvement of Native Americans in reform efforts and the subsequent impacts of reform on services for Native Americans. We found that the reform was relatively unsuccessful at creating mechanisms for genuine community input or improving behavioral health care for this population. These shortcomings were related to limited understandings of administrators concerning how tribal governments and health care systems operate, and the structural limitations of a managed care system that does not allow flexibility for culturally appropriate utilization review, screening, or treatment. However, interaction between the State and tribes increased, and we conclude that aspects of the reform could be strengthened to achieve more meaningful involvement and service improvements.

Women, Anthropology, Tourism, and the Southwest

The articles in this special section commemorate and analyze the lives of five women for whom the Southwest was a special place in the first half of the twentieth century. Three Elsie Clews Parsons, Ruth Benedict, and Gladys Reichard were professional anthropologists whose primary field research was conducted in Navajo or Pueblo cultural settings. The other two Mary Colter and Erna Fergusson were women who had a lasting impact on the creation of tourism in the Southwest, a process that involved bringing Anglo outsiders into contact with both Navajo and Pueblo cultures, first through the railroad and later by automobile travel. In publishing these essays, we want to recognize, appreciate, and reevaluate the lives of women whose contributions have often been

Feminism in Anthropology

Feminism in anthropology in the United States emerged in the mid-1970s with the publication of two collections that examined womens subordination, power, and influence. By the 1980s, US anthropologists were rediscovering their feminist foremothers and turning their attention from only women to an analysis of gender. Feminists paid more attention to history, class, race, and sexuality as gender relations. Since 2000, feminists have taken a global perspective in studying immigration, sexuality, masculinity, new reproductive technologies, neoliberalism, and gender violence. Despite some claims that the twenty-first century is a postfeminist era, US feminist anthropologists are participating in a variety of activist movements and collaborating with feminists on other continents.

The Transformation of Behavioral Healthcare in New Mexico

Since 1997, public-sector behavioral healthcare in New Mexico has remained under continual transition. We have conducted qualitative research to examine recent efforts in NM to establish a recovery-oriented behavioral healthcare system, focusing on comprehensive community support services, clinical homes, and core service agencies. We examine how decisions made in the outer context (e.g., the system level) shaped the implementation of each initiative within the inner context of service provision (e.g., provider agencies). We also clarify how sociopolitical factors, as exemplified in changes instituted by one gubernatorial administration and undone by its successor, can undermine implementation efforts and create crises within fragile behavioral healthcare systems. Finally, we discuss findings in relation to efforts to promote wraparound service planning and to establish medical home models under national healthcare reform.