This study investigates the ideas and conceptions underlying the original principles governing landholding amongst the Shona people of Zimbabwe. Its primary premiss is that the Shona have a basic conception of land peculiar to themselves, which is an element of their world-view, and which is different from Western-type legal conceptions of land. The principles which derive from the Shona basic conception of land provide the basis for the institutions which the Shona have historically developed to govern their system of landholding, and that system can only be accurately analysed within the framework of Shona conceptions and ideas relating to land. Unlike the Western-type legal conceptions in which land is seen as a divisible thing which can be made the subject of private ownership, the Shona basic conception of land regards land as being indivisible, incapable of being individually appropriated, and as providing an essential link between the various elements of the Shona universe. The Shona institutions of landholding comprise 'powers' that govern both the physical distribution of access to the land and the spiritual relationship which the Shona as individuals and as communities have with the land. The effective operation of the Shona institutions of landholding was substantially curtailed by the changes wrought on them through the actions of the colonial and post-colonial State in Zimbabwe. However, the Shona basic conception of land still persists in the minds and attitudes of many members of Shona society, and continues to influence the manner in which they deal with the land.

With reference to the turn to the self in contemporary Western societies, this study assesses the significance of emotional competence as a means of improving subjective wellbeing. It delineates the key components of the subjective turn and specifies the main outcome as emotional competence, achieved through increased self-reflection and self-awareness. The efficacy of mindfulness practice as a method for improving emotional competence is examined and a programme of mindfulness-based emotional development (MBED) devised, informed by a substantial body of empirical research. Prior to working with thirty-five participants in six discrete groups from a range of work-related contexts, extensive participant observation was undertaken through attendance in a broad range of mindfulness retreats, training, courses and conferences. The resultant one-day course was used to assess the outcomes of participation for the co-researchers. The therapeutic effects are reported quantitatively in terms of psychological wellbeing, physical health and productivity at work, and qualitatively using data from the co-researcher 'diary' accounts. In addition, an autoethnographical account of the researcher's longitudinal experience is elucidated as a method of assessing the significance of the practice for emotional management using a three-fold typology of the sacred, the mundane and the profane. The thesis culminates in a four-phase model of personal development that examines the application of MBED as a means of facilitating eudaemonic wellbeing, through improved intrapersonal and interpersonal communication.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis is concerned with culture at a time of profound change, when coal mining, hitherto the region's industrial mainstay, has been eradicated. It questions notions of cultural regeneration which do not take existing industrial culture into account. It questions how culture regenerates, and who it regenerate for. Monumental public art works are closely associated with cultural regeneration; yet few have significant association with the landscape. Museum, art gallery and other cultural representations are sustained through public funding. Public art re-images the identity of the landscape as a part of a wider process. Specificity of place, and cultural relevance of lived experience, is contrasted with the art at the core of cultural regeneration. Art appears as a surrogate for missing industrial structures. High art practices colonise the cultural spaces previously occupied by low culture. True representations of mining and miners are suppressed by caricature and stereotype, not cultural reality. In contrast much of the spoken word narrative of colliery working life, informed by aesthetics based in experience, goes unrecorded. This culture is not called upon to participate in the regeneration process. Presentation of mining working life, in its own vernacular, is a verbal demonstration of the colliery aesthetic. Cultural dynamics are perceived in visual and narrative forms. Centring investigation on visual material a body of research is embarked upon which develops methods of social investigation, through the use of images to elicit testimonies. This is carried out in the context of focus groups. Obtaining information through research into cultural understanding invests respondents with the role of cultural representatives: expressing concepts of culture, in their own way, reveals their concerns about culture and its representations. Focus groups consider presentations of mining and other local industrial culture in respect to public spending on public cultural forms. Representations through memory and memorial are also considered.

This thesis explores the relationships and kinship practices of women, in the North of England who have a husband or partner in prison. In particular it focuses on how kinship in the context of incarceration is subordinate. The study is addressed from the perspective of the mothers of prisoners' children who are the wives and partners of prisoners. The study derives from qualitative ethnographic research which was undertaken between May 2004 and September 2005. During this time participant observations at the Visitors' Centres of a category B male local prison and a High Security Estate prison were conducted as a means of gaining valuable insights into the way in which the rules and regulations of the prison establishment govern the different forms of contact between prisoners and their families. This was supported by unstructured in-depth interviews with eleven women who were the wives or partners of male prisoners with the aim of collecting more detailed biographical case study data, focusing on their experiences. The issues which this thesis addresses and which derived from the research data collected were questions concerning what is the relationship between the family and the prison; how the tensions between exacting justice and the families welfare impact on health and well-being of mothers and their perception of the impact on their children, the effect of incarceration on kinship practices, and the extent to which incarceration influences the lives of these women beyond the institutional setting, with emphasis placed on their relationships and social networks. The theoretical focus of the study is orientated towards a contextualisation of the family and the use of imprisonment in both a contemporary and historical context, drawing, in particular, on the work of Foucault and his ideas concerning discipline and surveillance. The themes used revolve around, experiences of separation, notions of exchange and gift giving, ideas of the Visitors' Centre as a liminal space, secondary prisonization, and stigma. The conclusions drawn bring these ideas together to show how 'a subordinate kinship' is manifest in this context.

This is the first anthropological study contrasting different representations of stroke in two sites in sub-Saharan Africa. It draws on data collected during one year of qualitative research fieldwork in rural (Hai) and urban (Dar-es-Salaam) Tanzania, using a mix of qualitative methods such as extensive ethnographic fieldwork and case studies. Using a power relations framework crafted from concepts developed by Foucault and Bourdieu, I analyse the way stroke is constructed and negotiated in the two sites. Stroke discourses and practices are products largely of the interplay of social, cultural, historical and economic processes. I examine these interactions at the individual, family, and community levels. My findings show that although there are several competing discourses about stroke in each site, one tends to become dominant. A given discourse acquires a dominant position by virtue of being associated with a stronger power base rooted in local and regional processes. Different stroke discourses lead to the pursuit of different remedies which range from hospital to a variety of traditional and faith-based healing. Social negotiations characterise the selection of treatment, and people commonly combine several options to obtain care. I outline potential community based stroke interventions to improve knowledge, awareness and treatment about stroke, such as working with community members who hold symbolic power. I make four health policy recommendations. I emphasize the need for developing health programmes informed by contextual dynamics. Raising awareness is an important first step in implementing such programmes. I highlight the need to learn from successful interventions, such as the effectiveness of interactive and appropriate health messages delivered through popular mass media.

This study examines Christian death rites in modem Korea in the light of the complex interplay of Confucian and Christian values. It is based on the fact that Korea, once the most thoroughly Confucianized state in East Asia, has become one of the most dynamic Christian countries in the world within the space of a century. The study uncovers the ways in which Korean Christians, in their death rites, have struggled to balance 'religious piety to God' and 'filial duty to ancestors', which represent core Christian and Confucian values respectively. They cannot simply choose the one at the expense of the other as both are integral to their identity. This study innovatively classifies death rites into three categories: ritual before death (bible-copying), ritual at death (funerary rites), and ritual after death (ancestral ritual). After presenting historical and contemporary data of the three death rites, the study provides two different types of analysis: one is a historical-theological analysis and the other sociological-anthropological. Drawing upon historical and theological perspectives, it reveals the underlying principle of complex phenomena surrounding the three death rites. The thesis then explores these death rites in terms of three sociological and anthropological theoretical themes, viz. embodiment, exchange, and material culture. The three death rites are viewed as a 'total social phenomenon', a concept derived from Marcel Mauss' study and employed here as an overarching interpretive framework.

No description available.

This thesis aims to investigate the potential of Participatory Video (PV) as a method for facilitating collaborative research; and, by this methodology, produce an ethnographic description of Karrayyu Oromo community, lifestyle and culture which is accessible by and useful for community members, as well as researchers. The Karrayyu are one of the last Oromo groups to practice pastoralism and Oromo traditions such as the Gadaa system and Waaqeffata, the Oromo religion. However, they are struggling due to a range of pressures, including the recent introduction of a large scale irrigation scheme which aims to convert them from pastoralism to agriculture. This thesis attempts to document aspects of Karrayyu culture and way of life, as well as attitudes towards the transition from pastoralism to agriculture. The overall research approach falls under collaborative anthropology. Community members were involved throughout, from designing research questions and areas of inquiry, to gathering data and analysis. Although I specified a methodological approach I did not define the research area or specific research questions. Video was used as a tool to engage participants as co-creators of knowledge, thus shifting the power dynamics of knowledge creation away from purely researcher driven enquiry. Throughout this thesis I merge ideas taken from collaborative ethnography, engaged anthropology and participatory research in order to provide a theoretical background for the study of PV. This research seeks to generate a more in-depth, critical and reflexive understanding of PV as a research tool. The thesis explores PV as a method and its potential uses for anthropological research. I focus on power dynamics and representation, PV and indigenous knowledge, PV and vertical communication, and PV as a form of cultural brokerage. I argue that PV answers calls for collaborative forms of research and offers opportunities for a new form of “engaged” anthropology, whilst also acknowledging the challenges raised by the use of PV. As well as investigating the use of PV, this research aims to make a positive contribution to the Karrayyu community. PV enabled participants to convey their reality as they see it, which was particularly important for members of a marginalised group who have been denied opportunities to represent their culture and history, and who currently have little influence over the policies that affect them. The thesis explores issues of representation, attempts to address access to and ownership of knowledge, and raises questions about the relevance and application of research for indigenous groups like the Karrayyu.