Tasks and methods of industrial anthropology. A review]

In the course of the industrialization of our work-environment, and in conjunction with the mass production of consumer goods, it has proven necessary to determine systematically the body-measurements important to this area, and to develop a constellation of technical aspects for their application. This has required the development of new measuring methods which go beyond those of classical anthropology; the acquisition of data concerning the distribution of body size and proportion in the various regional and social sub-populations; and finally, determination of the parameters of work-environment which are dictated by human form and function. Industrial anthropology has developed more and more in the past few years as a field of study whose object is the interaction between people and their technical environment.     

Cyber anthropology or anthropology in cyberspace

As a variety of anthropology, cyber anthropology is considered to be the fastest growing sub branch in the science. It is based on synergic effects of multimedia systems and hypermedia, using their comparative advantages. One of the least researched fields of cyber anthropology is the relationship of individuals and social groups with a multimedia document in terms of their perception of such subject. This is because the foundation of social-informatics perception in the society is created based on the evidence of a real life, whereas here the perception is established at the level of virtual, i.e. online life. The rhetorical question here is whether an identical content causes the same or different user reactions, depending on whether it was perceived offline or online, i.e. to what extend does the medium (and not the information content) dictate the user perception. In this respect the research titled "Perception of online museum content creators and actual habits of Croatian online museum visitors" can be a "case study" for the impact of "cyber potential" on the classic anthropological paradigm.     

New storage methods and improved trapping techniques for the parasitic nematode Neoaplectana carpocapsae

The parasitic nematode Neoaplectana carpocapsae had consistently high survival when it was stored at 3°C on moist filter paper ca. 1 year. Oxygen-enriched storage atmospheres were found unnecessary. During the second year of storage, mortality was a little higher, an average of ca. 37%. Storage for 19 months did not significantly reduce nematode infectivity. Survival during trapping was improved by controlling the number of cadavers per trap.     

Toward conservational anthropology: addressing anthropocentric bias in anthropology

Anthropological literature addressing conservation and development often blames ‘conservationists’ as being neo-imperialist in their attempts to institute limits to commercial activities by imposing their post-materialist eco-ideology. The author argues that this view of conservationists is ironic in light of the fact that the very notion of ‘development’ is arguably an imposition of the (Western) elites. The anthropocentric bias in anthropology also permeates constructivist ethnographies of human–animal ‘interactions,’ which tend to emphasize the socio-cultural complexity and interconnectivity rather than the unequal and often extractive nature of this ‘interaction.’ Anthropocentrism is argued to be counteractive to reconciling conservationists’ efforts at environmental protection with the traditional ontologies of the interdependency of human-nature relationship.     

New techniques for the thermal physiologist: using clinical magnetic resonance methods in basic research

Temperature measurement is possible by at least five magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-methods. All techniques deliver relative units. All techniques have turned out to be useful in dead material. All techniques are sensible to all kinds of movements of or within the body and to measurements in different kinds of tissue. As measuring time is mostly some minutes, application in vivo is still problematic. The main problem for the thermal physiologist is the sensibility of the techniques both to temperature and to perfusion. Great relevance for thermal physiology will turn out with further development of MR-techniques.     

A brief introduction to biophotonic techniques and methods

Science China Life Sciences -     

Family therapy and anthropology

There has been among family therapists a widespread belief that anthropology is at least useful if not kindred to their field. The belief springs from the assumption that families in different cultural milieus have different ways of expressing their experience of intimacy in everyday life. If this is true, family organization transcends culture, and the latter is a mere language or mode of expression of the more basic pillar of family organization. However, the assumption is also strong that different cultural contexts produce different types of families, and the natural consequence of this hypothesis is that family therapy as developed in the United States would be restricted to dealing with American families, while the problems of family life elsewhere should be meted by the local cultural ways. These two hypotheses, namely that of family universality and that of cultural relativism, are far ends of a continuum. The more interesting and real cases lie somewhere in the middle.In the following argument I will discuss this subject by presenting a brief overview of family therapy's theories and practices for those readers who know nothing about it, by reviewing a recent book that makes the claim that family therapists will benefit from some kind of anthropological knowledge, and finally by turning the question on its head and addressing the interest family therapy may have for anthropologists.     

Aseptic laboratory techniques: plating methods

Microorganisms are present on all inanimate surfaces creating ubiquitous sources of possible contamination in the laboratory. Experimental success relies on the ability of a scientist to sterilize work surfaces and equipment as well as prevent contact of sterile instruments and solutions with non-sterile surfaces. Here we present the steps for several plating methods routinely used in the laboratory to isolate, propagate, or enumerate microorganisms such as bacteria and phage. All five methods incorporate aseptic technique, or procedures that maintain the sterility of experimental materials. Procedures described include (1) streak-plating bacterial cultures to isolate single colonies, (2) pour-plating and (3) spread-plating to enumerate viable bacterial colonies, (4) soft agar overlays to isolate phage and enumerate plaques, and (5) replica-plating to transfer cells from one plate to another in an identical spatial pattern. These procedures can be performed at the laboratory bench, provided they involve non-pathogenic strains of microorganisms (Biosafety Level 1, BSL-1). If working with BSL-2 organisms, then these manipulations must take place in a biosafety cabinet. Consult the most current edition of the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) as well as Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for Infectious Substances to determine the biohazard classification as well as the safety precautions and containment facilities required for the microorganism in question. Bacterial strains and phage stocks can be obtained from research investigators, companies, and collections maintained by particular organizations such as the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). It is recommended that non-pathogenic strains be used when learning the various plating methods. By following the procedures described in this protocol, students should be able to: Perform plating procedures without contaminating media. Isolate single bacterial colonies by the streak-plating method. Use pour-plating and spread-plating methods to determine the concentration of bacteria. Perform soft agar overlays when working with phage. Transfer bacterial cells from one plate to another using the replica-plating procedure. Given an experimental task, select the appropriate plating method.