The last 20 years of visual anthropology – a critical review

This article is a critical review of the last 20 years of the development of visual anthropology in the United States and United Kingdom. It is argued that there are three approaches to the field – visual anthropology as ethnographic film, as the cultural study of pictorial media and as an inclusive anthropology of visual communication. The development and expansion of scholarly journals, training programmes and increasing general acceptance of this branch of cultural anthropology bodes well for the future. The anthropologist as image‐maker and scholar of the visible and pictorial world is becoming increasingly commonplace.     

An investigation of defamilization/familization measures to assist women to save pension income and strengthen the adult worker model—The case of Hong Kong

This paper examines the use of defamilization and familization measures to develop an analytical framework to inform the search for ways to improve women's opportunities to accumulate pension income. This framework is associated with the use of the adult worker model. Three main analytical tasks are presented. Firstly, we discuss different interpretations of what defamilization entails. Based on these different views, two types of defamilization measures utilized by the government are identified: care‐focused and economic defamilization. Secondly, with reference to different definitions of the adult worker model, we develop a framework for identifying ways to make the provision of the government's defamilization measures and its alternatives (care‐focused and economic familization measures) more effective in assisting women to accumulate pension income. Thirdly, using the case of Hong Kong, we demonstrate the application of this analytical framework.     

The Service Provider and Medication Usage Grids: A New Method to Measure “Treatment as Usual” (TAU)

This article reviews the creation and evaluation of two instruments that measure “treatment as usual” (TAU) in a clinical research setting. The Service Provider and Medication Usage Grids were developed to assess children’s past and current utilization of mental health services and medications. A pilot study revealed that compared to information gathered from other sources, these instruments provide an accurate method to assess, record, and track TAU in clinical studies. In addition, these instruments provide a clear and concise way to organize this information and do not require much time to administer. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

African American Therapists Working With African American Families: An Exploration of the Strengths Perspective in Treatment

With the exception of Hill's (1971, 1999) work, historically much of the literature on African American families has focused more on pathology than strengths. This study used interviews with 30 African American psychotherapists, self-identified as employing a strengths perspective with African American families, to investigate which strengths they identified in the families and how they use those strengths in therapy. Themes emerging from data analysis confirmed the continued importance of the five strengths Hill noted. In addition, two new strengths were identified by the participants: a willingness of a greater number of families to seek therapy, and the importance of family structure. Strategies used in engaging the families in therapy and practice implications for family therapists are discussed.     

Effect of recent economic experiences on consumer dreams, goals and behavior in the United States

The paper examines the effect of subjective economic experience on consumer behavior in the U.S. The empirical effort uses survey data from a national mail sample. Consumer behavior is seen to reflect two kinds of orientations - a strategic and a tactical one - and the analysis supports the effect of changing economic environment only on tactical orientations, as hypothesized.     

From social psychology to political economy: A model of energy use behavior

Multiple and complex factors determine people's energy use behavior. However, policies designed to affect individual energy use behavior focus mostly on a limited number of micro, short-run and easily manipulable variables. These have produced limited response.A theoretical framework is proposed in this paper that attempts to provide a comprehensive and integrative view of energy use behavior. The framework examines variables that create and maintain particular types and intensities of energy use behavior. Based on this framework, implications for energy policies and their potential effectiveness have been drawn.     

On gender role violations and judgments made about euthanasia: a research note

The impact of perceived gender role violations on the willingness of evaluators to label a deadly act to "end suffering" as euthanasia was explored in two studies. It was predicted that "killing" (even mercy killing) would be perceived as more role contradictory for a female actor than for a male actor. Therefore, it was expected that the deadly actions of a female actor would be judged as less justified (i.e., less likely to be labeled as euthanasia) than the same action committed by a male actor. A total of 486 undergraduates participated in one of two studies. It was found that although perceptions of justification for a deadly act were clearly influenced by whether or not the method of action taken was direct and proactive (commission) vs. indirect and passive (omission), the gender of the actor did not impact differently on the judgments of the participants. Possible explanations and future research directions are discussed.