AN ETHICS FOR WORKING UP?: Japanese Corporate Scandals and Rethinking Lessons about Fieldwork

ABSTRACT

Almost forty years after Laura Nader's initial rallying call for anthropologists to “study up,” research on power holders and elite individuals and institutions still constitutes only a small fraction of ethnographic work. In addition, many of the methodological and ethical issues specific to studying up remain under-examined. Most discussions of methodological and ethical dilemmas in anthropology to date have assumed a power differential that favors the anthropologist. What happens when the power vector points in the other direction? Through the retelling of dilemmas faced when dealing with a very powerful and prominent field subject, I set the stage for a broader examination of the often taken-for-granted ethical and methodological norms of contemporary anthropological fieldwork. While pulling apart the intertwined narratives of a corporate scandal and a corporate-sponsored women's soccer team, I attend to the ways that studies of those in power often de-center commonly held assumptions within anthropology about the primacy of participant observation, the importance of rapport, the question of for whom we write, and the need to protect subjects’ anonymity. Underscoring the analytical utility of attending to the process of ethnography, rather than just its products, this essay aims to raise some questions about the ethical and intellectual responsibilities of anthropologists, specifically those questions that arise when one studies up.     

An Assessment of Judges’ Self‐Reported Experiences of Secondary Traumatic Stress

Many judges experience occupation‐specific stress, such as secondary traumatic stress (STS), burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious traumatization. A content analysis of 762 judges’ open‐ended responses to a survey asking whether they had suffered from STS revealed that judges moderately experienced most types of stress. Some case types (e.g., family court) and some job aspects (e.g., gruesome evidence) were particularly stressful. Judges reported both positive (e.g., social support) and negative (e.g., distractions) coping mechanisms. Interventions should be tailored to judges’ characteristics, (e.g., gender), job (e.g., family court), beliefs (e.g., that STS does not exist), and level of distress.     

The Accuracy and Applicability of 3D Modeling and Printing Blunt Force Cranial Injuries

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors affecting the accuracy of 3D models and 3D prints of cranial blunt force trauma, to evaluate the applicability and limitations of modeling such injuries. Three types of cranial blunt force lesions were documented (hinge, depressed, and comminuted) using three forms of surface scanning (laser, structured light scanner, and photogrammetry) at two different quality settings (standard and high). 3D printed models of the lesions were produced using two different materials (a gypsum‐like composite powder called VisiJet^® PXL and an acrylic engineered composite plastic called VisiJet^® M3 in crystal colour). The results of these analyzes indicate the prints in this study exhibit some statistically significant differences from the actual bone lesions, but details of the lesions can be reproduced to within 2 mm accuracy.     

The role of valuation and bargaining in optimising transboundary watercourse treaty regimes

In the face of water scarcity, growing water demands, population increase, ecosystem degradation, or climate change, transboundary watercourse states inevitably have to make difficult decisions on how finite quantities of water are distributed. Such waters, and their associated ecosystem services, offer multiple benefits. Valuation and bargaining can play a key role in the sharing of these ecosystems services and their associated benefits across sovereign borders. Ecosystem services in transboundary watercourses essentially constitute a portfolio of assets. While challenging, their commodification, which creates property rights, supports trading. Such trading offers a means by which to resolve conflicts over competing uses and allows states to optimise their ‘portfolios’. However, despite this potential, adoption of appropriate treaty frameworks that might facilitate a market-based approach to the discovery and allocation of water-related ecosystem services at the transboundary level remains both a challenge and a topic worthy of further study. Drawing upon concepts in law and economics, this paper therefore seeks to advance the study of how treaty frameworks might be developed in a way that supports such a market-based approach to ecosystem services and transboundary waters.     

Childhood Physical and Verbal Mistreatment,Psychological Symptoms,and Substance Use: Sex Differences and the Moderating Role of Attachment

Sex differences in sequelae associated with levels of childhood physical mistreatment and verbal mistreatment were examined in a non-clinical sample of 272 university students. We predicted and found that both forms of mistreatment are related to attachment difficulties as well as various adverse psychological symptoms. We hypothesized, based on attachment theory, that the strength of a child’s attachment to one parent would moderate adverse emotional sequelae of mistreatment by the other parent. This prediction was only partially supported. Strength of the mother-daughter attachment moderated several of the adverse psychological symptoms in response to mistreatment by fathers, but mother-son attachment did not so moderate. Strength of the father-son attachment also did not moderate the symptoms associated with mistreatment perpetrated by mothers, nor did the father-daughter attachment. These results suggest that, among other relevant factors, sex differences should also be taken into account in treatment and prevention efforts.     

Still not in Force: Should States Support the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention?

On 21 May 1997, at the UN General Assembly, an overwhelming majority of States voted for the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses – a global overarching framework governing the rights and duties of States sharing freshwater systems. To date, the Convention counts 17 Contracting States – 18 short of the number required for entry into force. This article examines whether and why States should support the Convention towards ensuring its entry into force. We first look at the governance of international watercourses in order to illustrate the relevance of the Convention. The article also examines the Convention's drafting and negotiation process, the subsequent practice of States, some possible reasons slowing down ratifications and the likelihood of entry into force in the foreseeable future. Noting the widespread State support for the Convention in 1997, we conclude that, while various reasons have possibly prevented that support from translating into entry into force, the need for an effective UN Watercourses Convention has not diminished. In view of current human and environmental threats to the world's water resources, coupled with the poor governance of transboundary watersheds, the potential role that the Convention could play, once in force and widely ratified, as discussed, may in fact be more critical than ever.     

‘Does the doormat influence the boot?’: critical thoughts on UK NGOs and international advocacy

Most UK development NGOs engage in advocacy work at the international level in an attempt to reduce the constraints imposed on grassroots development by global economics and the actions of the official aid agencies. Thus far, their record has been disappointing, and this article explores some of the reasons which lie behind the failure of NGOs to fulfil their potential in this field. Four strategic weaknesses are identified: an overall absence of clear strategy, a failure to build strong alliances, a failure to develop alternatives to current orthodoxies, and the dilemma of relations with donors. Each weakness is analysed with reference to practical examples, and appropriate conclusions drawn.