Yohai Hakak

Psychology and democracy in the name of the God? the invocation of modern and secular discourses on parenting in the service of conservative religious aims

This article analyses an insular religious communitys guidance literature on parenting which adopts aspects of the democratic and the psychological discourses commonly accepted to be Western, modern and secular in character. I argue here that due to its social structure as a religious enclave, the Haredi community stresses the equality of its members. When the surrounding community becomes more egalitarian the Haredi community is forced to increase its internal equality in order to prevent defection of its members and as part of this effort it incorporates democratic discourses and practices from the outside. Some of these relate to the relations between children and their parents and educators. As I will show, the loss of authority of elders, as part of this process, forces Haredi rabbis and educators to incorporate Western psychological discourse as an alternative means of social control. Through this examination of Haredi guidance literature on parenting, the article explores which aspects of those discourses are rejected and which are adopted and why. It also considers the broader meanings and implications of this process.

Excellence or Equality in the Name of God? The Case of Ultra-Orthodox Enclave Education in Israel*

The Jewish Israeli Ultra-Orthodox religious seminaries are mass education frameworks for all young men of that community that seek to shelter them from the surrounding “secular” majority. As part of the attempt to keep all men within the religious seminaries for as long as possible, the rabbis of these institutions stress the value of equality among students. At the same time, these religious educational frameworks stress excellence as part of their attempt to foster the community’s future religious leadership. This article focuses on the unique meanings and expressions of the tension between equality and excellence in the students’ scholastic achievements and the ways in which this community deals with such tensions. By examining the discourses and practices employed by the religious leadership, this article demonstrates how they confront the growing tension and navigate between equality and excellence in their attempt to preserve the current order. In the past decade, leading rabbis of Haredi yeshivas in Israel have been preoccupied by the growing tension between excellence and equality. These rabbis have labored to resolve the disparity between the nor-

Egalitarian Fundamentalism: Preventing Defection in the Israeli Haredi Community

Fundamentalist religious communities are usually portrayed as patriarchal in relation to women and authoritative towards children and young people. This article explores three cases in which a fundamentalist group, the Jewish Israeli Haredi (Ultra Orthodox) community uses egalitarian discourses and practices. My claim is that egalitarianism is a tool which the community uses to prevent members from defecting or to bring back members who have defected. Egalitarianism or equality between members can be increased or reduced, according to changing needs. While egalitarianism is emphasised among members, condescension is emphasised in relation to the ‘outside’, often portrayed as unequal and abusive. As part of these attempts, Western psychological, feminist, and democratic discourses, usually considered to be alien to the community, are incorporated.

Awareness and understanding of dementia in South Asians: A synthesis of qualitative evidence

Background Despite a growing elderly South Asian population, little is known about the experience of diagnosis and care for those living with dementia. There have been a number of individual qualitative studies exploring the experiences of South Asian people living with dementia and their carers across different contexts. There has also been a growing interest in synthesizing qualitative research to systematically integrate qualitative evidence from multiple studies to tell us more about a topic at a more abstract level than single studies alone. The aim of this qualitative synthesis was to clearly identify the gaps in the literature and produce new insights regarding the knowledge and understanding of the attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs of the South Asian community about dementia. Methods Following a systematic search of the literature, included qualitative studies were assessed by two independent reviewers for methodological quality. Data were extracted and pooled using the Joanna Briggs Institute Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument (QARI). Findings were synthesized using the Joanna Briggs Institute approach to qualitative synthesis by meta-aggregation. Results Seventeen papers were critically appraised, with 13 meeting the inclusion criteria. Participants were mostly of South Asians of Indian background; followed by Pakistani with a few Sri Lankans. Missing South Asian countries from the current evidence base included those from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, and Nepal. Three meta-synthesis themes emerged from the analysis: (1) a poor awareness and understanding of dementia, (2) the experience of caregiving, and (3) the attitudes toward dementia care provision. Conclusions A consistent message from this qualitative synthesis was the limited knowledge and understanding of dementia amongst the South Asians. Whilst symptoms of dementia such as ‘memory loss’ were believed to be a part of a normal ageing process, some South Asian carers viewed dementia as demons or God’s punishments. Most studies reported that many South Asians were explicit in associating stigmas with dementia.

Rocks in my Pockets

Signe Baumane’s animated feature film Rocks in My Pockets is a humorous film about depression, as the film-maker describes it. The film would be an excellent resource for teaching about mental health CSS-nationally and it opens up and illustrates some of the key issues and dilemmas. The animation style of Rocks in my Pockets reminds one of children’s drawings but after the opening few moments in which Baumane meditates on the practicalities of her potential suicide, it becomes clear that this isn’t meant for children. The film deals with Baumane’s depression, mental health problems and the similar issues many of her female family members experienced. She starts and ends her film with trying to understand her grandmother Anna who was found by a local hunter standing in the middle of the river, possibly after an unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide. What is unique about Baumane’s film is how she tells her family story. From a medical perspective, it would be easy to argue that this family is a good example of how mental health problems are passed on through our genes, but luckily Baumane’s isn’t impressed by such interpretations. In fact, throughout the film she is rightly cynical about the psychiatric pretence of scientific knowledge and describes the damage caused to her family members who were hospitalised or medicated. Instead of putting the emphasis on genetics she tells a series of interconnected and detailed life stories of her grandmother, Anna, and her three other cousins—Miranda, Linda and Irba—who all experienced severe mental health problems. These stories include rich social and psychological contexts to their lives. Social isolation, poverty, communal expectations and gender relations provide in each case a much more plausible explanation of the suffering of the women in Baumane’s family. While the topics and the experiences described are far from light-hearted, Baumane’s narration is full of ‘black humour’ and the original beautiful musical score that accompanies the film, makes the experience enjoyable though demanding. Mental health is not an easy topic for a film. One of the difficult aspects is how to transfer through visual images or ‘film language’ the very internal and chaotic experience of those with a mental health problem. This is where Baumane’s film, using the medium of animation, does a very good job. Baumane portrays her depression as a large, spiky ball churning inside her, decimating everything in its path until it takes over the whole screen. This reminded me of the excellent animated film Ryan, another compelling film dealing with schizophrenia that used brilliantly the power of animation to visualise some of the otherwise very non-visual aspects of mental health problems. ‘Rocks in my Pockets’ has an optimistic end. Baumane describes her own life challenges including a marriage at a young age and divorce but gradually she is able to move closer to where she wants to be as an adult—practising her art. She talks about the importance of people in her life and the power of being able to give to others, which gives her meaning and reason. This wonderful, intelligent and heart-warming film is her way of giving to all of us.

Life at the other end: participatory film-making, power and the ‘common third’

Abstract In this article, we will describe and analyse the production of the documentary film Life at the Other End (The documentary film Life at the Other End (2012) was screened at Picture This: International Disabilities Film Festival in Calgary, Canada; Steps-International Film Festival on Human Rights, Ukrain; at the Joint Social Work Education Conference, Royal Holloway University, London; Staffordshire Performing Arts Film Festival, UK and at the We Care Film Festival, New Delhi, India where it won the 2nd place as the best film on disability (up to 60 min category). The film can be watched on Youtube here: http://bit.ly/1O8zEqp). The film followed a group of experts-by-experience who are members in a Social Work Inclusion Group (SWIG) (SWIG or Social Work Inclusion Group is affiliated to the University of Portsmouth. For more details about SWIG please see here: http://swig.uk.net/) affiliated to the Division of Social Work at the University of Portsmouth. The film followed the group during a process of writing and performing a play based on their personal experiences in the social care system. The production process will be explored as a case study for the application of the ‘common third’ approach. The case will highlight some of the approach’s strengths and will describe the circumstances in which it failed (This article is in memory of Andrew Chappell who chaired SWIG, took a central part in the play and film discussed here and passed away on 23 July 2016).

Perception and attitude toward ageing and dementia among the Bangladeshi community in England

Background: Worldwide, an increasing ageing population mean more people may suffer from dementia. Despite a rapid growth of older Bangladeshi immigrants living in the UK, there is little evidence about how community members (who are not affected by dementia) understand and view the process of ageing and dementia. Yet, Bangladeshis have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease; both important indicators of developing dementia in old age. In previous research, conducted with immigrant South Asians, the concept of stigma and its impact on the understanding of dementia has been commonly acknowledged as a big challenge to seeking service support. This study aimed to explore and analyse the perception, knowledge, and attitude of ageing and dementia among the Bangladeshi community.

Haredi Masculinities between the Yeshiva, the Army, Work and Politics

Haredi Masculinities between the Yeshiva, the Army, Work and Politics sheds a unique light on the dramatic changes Israeli Haredi masculinities have faced in the last decade as well as the wider impact these changes have on the Haredi minority and Israeli society.

‘Undesirable relationships’ between Jewish Women and Arab Men: representation and discourse in contemporary Israel

ABSTRACT Demography has been broadly considered as a key aspect of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. On the Jewish side, State intervention to encourage Jewish immigration and Jewish births is well known. Much less known are the efforts to discourage inter-faith relations. These ‘problematic relationships’ between Arab men and Jewish women from low socio-economic backgrounds have become a high priority item in public discussions over the last decade. In this article I will explore the main discursive practices used in this heated debate by those opposing these relationships. ‘Moral panic’ as a theoretical framework will help me analyse the ways in which Jewish women and Arab men who engage in such relations are presented. As I will show, attempts to criminalize and vilify Arab men meet with strong opposition. Presenting Jewish women as weak and passive victims seems as a more successful strategy, especially when done by professionals from the psych-professions.

UNDERSTANDING DEMENTIA AMONG THE BANGLADESHI COMMUNITY IN ENGLAND

Background: Despite a growing ageing South Asian immigrant population in England, little is known about the experiences of diagnosis and care for those living with dementia. Dementia in the South Asian ethnic groups has been characterized as ‘a hidden problem in a hidden population’ within a considerably marginalized group and for which the existing literature is limited. Worldwide, there have been a number of small, qualitative studies among South Asian people living with dementia. Consolidation through qualitative meta-synthesis can: (1) merge the experiences of a number of participants across studies to reveal fresh insights, (2) provide an enhanced understanding of the experience, (3) reduce replication by identifying gaps in current literature and (4) generate new research questions. Methods: Following a systematic search of the literature, included qualitative studies were assessed by two independent reviewers for methodological quality. Data were extracted using the Qualitative Assessment and Review Instrument (QARI) developed by The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). Findings were synthesized using JBI approach of meta-synthesis by meta-aggregation. Results: Synthesis from thirteen papers were aggregated into six meta-synthesis themes as: (1) Poor awareness and understanding of dementia, (2) Permeated stigma and shame, (3) Burdens or blessings of family caring? (4) Healthcare decision making power within family, (5) Food as coping mechanisms, (6) Attitudes to current and future provision of dementia care services. Conclusions: One research gap was identified using the population framework where despite increasing number of older people from the Bangladeshi community in England, little or no specific research has been carried out on their understanding and management of dementia. Yet, Bangladeshis have higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease; both are important indicators of developing dementia in old age. In addition, in England they have lowest education rates, highest smoking rates, poorest socio-economic and worst health positions risk factors for underdiagnosis, poor access to healthcare services and support. The synthesis (1st part) findings will inform the research questions of the 2nd and 3rd parts of the study; focus groups interviews with adults of Bangladeshi origin people without dementia of all ages (18+ years, with no upper age limit) across all socio-economic backgrounds and semi- structure qualitative interviews with Bangladeshi older people living with dementia, their family carers/ significant others respectively.