bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Public health surveillance
Authors: Hien Nguyen Tran , Buehler James W. , Kimball Ann Marie
Published: December 2021

Public health surveillance provides the epidemiologic foundation for modern public health practice. The ongoing monitoring of disease or health trends within populations informs what public health actions are taken and reflects whether those actions are effective. Surveillance may involve monitoring of diseases and other health-related conditions as well as their antecedents, characteristics, and consequences. Surveillance can guide the local response to individual cases of disease or more broadly inform public health programmes and policies. A key function of surveillance is to identify circumstances that merit further public health scrutiny, such as groups or locations that are disproportionately affected or changes in disease occurrence or severity. General principles that underlie the practice of surveillance are essentially the same for all countries, regardless of economic development. However, in many resource-poor countries, challenges to meeting needs for population health information are heightened and include potential tensions between groups with differing interests. Public health surveillance is conducted in many ways, depending on the nature of the health event under surveillance, the nature of healthcare and information infrastructures, the population involved, resources available, and information needs. The widespread and expanding use of the internet, electronic media, communication technologies, and mobile computing have enabled innovations in public health surveillance that reach far beyond traditional methods. Although surveillance methods were originally developed as part of efforts to control infectious diseases, basic concepts of surveillance have been applied to all areas of public health.
Sociology and psychology in public health
Authors: Quah Stella R.
Published: December 2021

The disciplines of sociology and psychology differ in interesting ways but they also have common links both conceptually and methodologically. They differ in overall scope: psychology typically focuses on the individual while sociology examines the individual’s social action (agency) and the community’s sociocultural, economic, political, and physical context (structure) within which they live, interact, work, and play. One important similarity between sociology and psychology is that both disciplines have a dedicated subfield for the study of health and illness. These subfields are, respectively, health sociology (also known as medical sociology) and health psychology. Thus, in line with the objective of this volume, the focus of this chapter is on the contributions to public health by health sociology and health psychology, the two subfields most relevant to public health.
Development and evaluation of complex multicomponent interventions in public health
Authors: Campbell Rona , Bonell Chris
Published: December 2021

This chapter examines the issues to consider when developing and evaluating complex public health interventions and signposts where more detailed guidance can be found. It starts by considering what complexity means in this context, including the contribution that systems theory has made. When developing complex interventions we suggest: (i) reading quantitative and qualitative research on similar interventions, preferably within systematic reviews; (ii) consulting stakeholders, including those that the intervention is intended to benefit, to help ensure its relevance, acceptability and ownership; (iii) considering using theory to inform the intervention design and hypotheses to assess in evaluations; (iv) assessing whether the intervention could operate at more than one level (from individual through to policy) to increase its chances of success; and (v) reflecting on issues of equity and how the intervention could reduce health inequalities.
Implementation science and translational public health
Authors: El-Sadr Wafaa M. , Wasserheit Judith , Wiener Bryan , Howard Andrea , Hankins Catherine , Culligan Patricia J. , Harripersaud Katherine
Published: December 2021

The pace of medical discovery in the past century has been breathtaking with new and improved drugs, devices, and diagnostics prolonging life, relieving suffering, and curing conditions that were previously untreatable. However, delays in care, incomplete information, and failed processes continue to plague modern healthcare in countries both rich and poor so that the benefits of medical discovery are not universally realized. Implementation science is the study of strategies undertaken to implement evidence-based technologies, services, diagnostics, or therapeutics in ‘real-life’ populations and service delivery contexts. The subject of study is the implementation method itself which can vary across place and time. The primary aim of implementation science is an optimistic one-focused on finding the opportunities to improve health and healthcare for all populations where gaps in care currently persist. This chapter explores the origins of implementation science, highlights the challenges facing implementation scientists, describes the key features of an implementation science study, and reviews examples of implementation science for resource-limited and high-income country settings. As the field of implementation science remains relatively new, this chapter provides practical guidance to the would-be implementation scientist on how to conduct research in this field.
Radiation and public health
Authors: Kheifets Leeka , Green Adele , Wakeford Richard
Published: December 2021

The electromagnetic spectrum encompasses frequencies that range from above approximately 1020 hertz (Hz) for ionizing radiation at the high end of the spectrum to static fields and power frequencies of 50–60 Hz at the low end. In order of decreasing frequency, the spectrum comprises gamma-rays, X-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, infrared radiation, microwaves, radio waves and extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields (ELF EMF). This chapter reviews sources and health effects of human exposure to radiation within the electromagnetic spectrum, and for ionizing radiation exposure to subatomic particles, as well as reviewing policies for limiting human exposure where appropriate.
Occupational health
Authors: Koh David , Hoe Gan Wee
Published: December 2021

Occupational health is the ‘promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental, and social well-being of workers in all occupations’. Work-related ill-health and injuries cause considerable mortality and morbidity to workers worldwide, and are a major cause of disability, lost productivity, and sickness absence. In the occupational setting, workers may suffer from occupational diseases (those directly caused by workplace hazards); ‘work-related diseases’ (those that are multifactorial in origin with occupational exposures contributing to part of the aetiology); and non-occupational diseases that affect the general population. Primary, secondary, and tertiary preventive measures can be used to reduce the burden of disease at the workplace. Prevention of occupational ill-health requires an understanding of the work processes, the range and extent of exposures to hazards, and the steps that may be available to reduce exposure. It also requires recognition of vulnerable occupational groups such as workers in developing nations, migrant workers, child labour, women workers, and impaired workers. The standard hierarchy of control strategies for reducing exposure to workplace hazards includes elimination, substitution, isolation, engineering measures, administrative procedures, and personal protective equipment. The workplace can be a suitable venue for health promotion activities although this should not be at the expense of elimination and control of exposure to occupational hazards. As occupational health practice has evolved to consideration of health issues beyond the ‘factory gate’, the discipline now has much in common with environmental health and encompasses the philosophy and principles of good public health practice.
Risk perception and communication
Authors: Fischhoff Baruch , Krishnamurti Tamar
Published: December 2021

Public health depends on laypeople’s ability to understand the health-related choices that they and their societies face. The study of risk perception examines that ability. The study of risk communication examines the processes that determine how well communications help (or hinder) their recipients. Although focused on decisions involving risk, such research necessarily considers potential benefits as well, if only the benefits that come from reducing risks (e.g. through medical treatments, lifestyle changes, or improved air quality). Communication is a two-way process. Without listening to people, it is impossible to understand what they know and value, as a foundation for providing relevant information in a comprehensible form. Here, we draw on basic research in decision science (behavioural decision research) to inform the specific challenges faced by public health researchers and practitioners. This chapter seeks to help experts help laypeople make wise health choices.
Epidemiology and prevention of cardiovascular disease
Authors: Wong Nathan D. , Fan Wenjun
Published: December 2021

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) including coronary artery disease, stroke, heart failure, peripheral arterial disease, and other CVD manifestations comprise the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Key risk factors, including hypertension, cigarette smoking, elevated cholesterol, elevated glucose levels/diabetes, obesity, and physical inactivity comprise the top six leading causes of death globally. Prevention of CVD focuses on identifying and managing these and other key risk factors at both the population and individual level through approaches aimed at primordial, primary, and secondary prevention. Global risk factor assessment with short or long-term risk prediction algorithms can help identify those most appropriate for treatment. Novel risk factor evaluation and screening for subclinical CVD can also help further stratify CVD risk. Clinical trials have documented the efficacy of key interventions, including those involving antiplatelet, blood pressure, and lipid modification (from statins and newer non-statin therapies), as well as newer diabetes treatments that reduce CVD risk. Future efforts will best determine what combination of interventions at both the population and individual level can have the greatest impact on prevention of CVD.
Obesity
Authors: Peeters Anna , Lobstein Tim
Published: December 2021

Overweight and obesity is a rapidly increasing global problem, impacting population health and healthcare systems. The World Health Organization prioritized the need to tackle obesity in its 2012 Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases 2013–2020 followed by its establishment of a Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity in 2015. This chapter analyses the problem of obesity from a public health perspective. It begins by considering definitions of overweight and obesity for adults and children, including the designation of obesity as a disease by many national and international organizations. It then describes the global trends for overweight and obesity, noting the disparities that exist in these trends and considering future projections. The fourth section discusses the financial and social consequences of overweight and obesity, and the fifth section explores in detail the many interacting causes of overweight and obesity. Finally, public health solutions to the global obesity problem are explored, highlighting the roles of the various potential contributors including civil society, commercial operators, and government at all levels.
Infectious diseases and prions
Authors: Hamer Davidson H. , Khan Amira , Bhutta Zulfiqar A.
Published: December 2021

Infectious diseases continue to contribute considerably to the global burden of morbidity, disability, and mortality, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Lower respiratory infections, diarrhoea, and tuberculosis remain among the top ten causes of mortality for all ages and sexes. Moreover, the emergence of many new viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic pathogens as well as rising antimicrobial resistance are current challenges. Despite a decline in infectious disease mortality, the growing dangers of antimicrobial resistance and emerging infections pose a critical threat to the health of millions. It is imperative, now more than ever, to scale up interventions for prevention and control of infectious diseases while promoting judicious use of antimicrobials.
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
Authors: Karim Quarraisha Abdool , Singh Urisha , Baxter Cheryl , Abdool Karim Salim S.
Published: December 2021

This chapter traces the history of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from its origins, remarkable scientific advances, and unprecedented global responses through to the current state of the epidemic, progress towards ending acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and remaining challenges. It explains the origins of HIV-1 and HIV-2, the development of a surveillance system, and the viral structure. It outlines different antiretroviral drugs used in the treatment of HIV infections, and current drug research. The prevention of both mother-to-child transmission and sexual transmission is outlined, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use. The development of modern technologies and social media to help people living with HIV is covered. Programmes to modify behaviour and reduce risk from injecting drug use are explained.
Malaria
Authors: Baiden Frank , Malm Keziah L. , Binka Fred
Published: December 2021

Malaria is a subtropical and tropical protozoan infection that accounts for nearly half a million deaths each year. Most deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa and are caused by Plasmodium falciparum. The least studied of the five Plasmodia species that cause malaria, P. knowlesi, along with P. vivax cause life-threatening disease, mostly in Southeast Asia. Children, pregnant women, and non-immune travellers to endemic countries are most vulnerable to severe malaria. Cerebral malaria and anaemia are complications that results in neurological deficit and death if treatment is delayed or inappropriately administered. Rapid diagnostic tests have emerged as accurate and reliable means to diagnosing malaria at point-of-care.
Substance use and misuse
Authors: Minh Giang Le , Shoptaw Steve
Published: December 2021

Around the world, substance use disorder is best understood along a spectrum that ranges from no use or use that causes no problems (i.e. the majority of people) through occasional use that brings occasional problems of moderate severity (i.e. some people) to frequent use that with severe problems (i.e. a minority of people). Across cultures, few people use substances (<10%) at levels that present severe problems. This chapter provides an overview of global trends of substance use and substance use disorder, offers criteria that define substance use disorder, and presents epidemiology on cannabis, opioids, amphetamine-type stimulants, and cocaine/crack. Relevant findings on public health consequences and intersections between substance use, infectious diseases, and other health threats are presented. A methodological toolbox containing best methods for studying substance use is provided. The chapter closes with a discussion of approaches to treatment and prevention of substance misuse, emphasizing integration of services (e.g. a one-stop shop).
Alcohol
Authors: Room Robin
Published: December 2021

This chapter begins with a discussion on alcohol, its uses, and its effects, both positive and negative, followed by a review of the recent research on its cumulative effects on health. The history of alcohol as a public health issue is also briefly reviewed. The temperance movements of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries sought to prohibit alcohol altogether, but by the 1930s the alternative of controlling alcohol sales to limit its adverse effects was the dominant aim. As these controls weakened after the 1950s, a ‘new public health’ approach argued for stronger controls. Although this approach gained ground among researchers from the 1970s onwards, it has often been resisted in the policy process. Seven main strategies to prevent or control alcohol problems are described, and their effectiveness briefly assessed. The chapter concludes with an account of alcohol policy in a globalizing world. An international convention on alcohol control has been called for to counter the influence of trade agreements and the globalization of alcohol production, distribution, and promotion.
Child health
Authors: Vaivada Tyler , Khan Amira , Irfan Omar , Bhutta Zulfiqar A.
Published: December 2021

This chapter focuses on the health status of children, particularly those less than 5 years of age. The global mortality burden among this group still remains unacceptably high and progress in reducing it remains unequal across countries and regions. Most children suffer and die from a small number of conditions—the main causes of morbidity are highly correlated with the major causes of death. Likewise, nutritional status, child growth, and development are intertwined. Strikingly, even in the poorest settings, a significant proportion of these outcomes could be prevented with a few interventions that are well known, feasible, deliverable without complex technology, and affordable. Strengthening the health system and integrating interventions into packages of care that can be delivered during pregnancy, childbirth, the neonatal period, and childhood at all levels—from home to hospital—will be key to increasing the coverage of health interventions and in further reducing child mortality.
Adolescent health
Authors: Patton George , Azzopardi Peter , Kaoma Natasha , Sabet Farnaz , Sawyer Susan
Published: December 2021

Many recent shifts are propelling adolescence into the forefront of global public health. There is a youth bulge with 1.8 billion, 10–24-year-olds comprising over a quarter of the global population. Nearly 90% live in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). Dramatic declines in mortality and disease burden in infancy and early childhood in many countries have resulted in a focus on growing adolescent health problems including mental disorders, the consequences of unsafe sexuality, the growing rates of non-communicable disease risks, and the impact of injuries and violence on this age group. Youth-friendly health services have the potential to promote equity, effectiveness, accessibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of care, including early interventions for major health risks. Prevention frameworks have integrated life-course epidemiology with strategies developed in the social and behavioural sciences. There is some evidence that involving young people in the conceptualization and implementation of some of these interventions improves the outcomes.
Forced migrants and other displaced populations
Authors: Bateman Steel Catherine R. , Zwi Anthony B.
Published: December 2021

This chapter provides an overview of the global health dimensions of forced migration and the associated public health challenges. The chapter identifies different categories of forced migrants and examines the main causes of displacement in a global context in which globalization is simultaneously a force for greater integration as well as a contributor to forced migration. Global statistics and legal frameworks relating to forced migrants are examined and formal protections to which refugees and other groups of forced migrants are entitled are identified. The public health situations of forced migrants are varied and often poor, the health situation of different types of forced migrant are outlined and public health responses described. The role of public health professionals in developing a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of forced migration in order to advocate for forced migrant health, and enable forced migrants to speak and be heard, aiding them in transforming their own health outcome are discussed.
Health needs assessment
Authors: Kelly Michael P. , Powell Jane E. , Bartle Natalie
Published: December 2021

This chapter begins with a consideration of the technical processes used for conducting health needs assessment. The relationship between health needs assessment and health economics is then examined and the philosophy of utilitarianism and its influence on health economics is explored. Cost utility analysis and its links to studies of quality of life are described and the important relationships between equity and efficiency are considered. The chapter then proceeds to explore the political and philosophical issues attaching to health needs assessment. This leads to an elaboration of the concept of justice derived from the work of Sen. Using ideas about the importance of human capabilities an argument is developed about the relational approach to understanding justice. The relational as against the individualistic position is found to provide a novel and useful way of describing health need and of attempting to meet that need. It also provides a set of precepts about the ways that services might be configured.
The practice of environmental health in an era of sustainable development
Authors: von Schirnding Yasmin E.R. , Goldman Lynn R.
Published: December 2021

Environmental health practice is concerned with assessing, controlling, and preventing factors in the environment that can potentially affect human health. This chapter briefly discusses the roots and origins of environmental health practice from earliest times to the present day, against a backdrop of current international initiatives highlighting health, environment, and sustainable development issues of global concern. The concept and scope of environmental health is discussed, before highlighting environmental health issues and the burden of environmentally related disease, which are of importance in directing the work of the environmental health practitioner. It then addresses the multifactorial nature of environmental health effects, the role of epidemiology and toxicology, and the basic elements of the risk assessment process. Next, tools to aid decision-making are introduced followed by a discussion on the role of intersectoral action and partnerships. The final section of the chapter addresses policy elements and actions which can be taken to address environmental health issues, and the implications for environmental health management and service delivery. A greater capacity to influence policy agendas outside of the health sector will be needed in future.
Strategies and structures for public health interventions
Authors: Griffiths Sian , Fenton Kevin A.
Published: December 2021

This chapter describes strategies for public health intervention and structures that support them. It uses examples of strategies in different parts of the world and at different levels—global, national, local, and individual—to illustrate various strategic approaches. The key elements of strategy are those of vision, mission, values, aims, plans, and their implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. The examples chosen provide descriptions of how these are articulated and also how interventions are made towards their achievement of better public health. The importance of the way health services are structured, the public health workforce, and underpinning research and use of evidence are emphasized.
Strategies for health services
Authors: Lee Chien Earn , Baum Fran
Published: December 2021

Strategies for health services need to take into account the complex nature and contexts of healthcare. Key contextual factors that need to be considered include norms and values, macroeconomics, demographic pressures, changing disease patterns, technological changes, the quest for quality and reducing waste, and rising patient expectations. Healthcare systems have responded to the evolving environment by reassessing the relationship between the state and the market, the way health services are organized and financed, and the involvement of patients in their own care. These developments bring new opportunities to reorient health services towards the maximization of health gain. This chapter discusses strategies where public health professionals can play a potentially vital role in translating these opportunities into reality. It starts by looking at the needs assessment and priority-setting process to ensure that the health services provided reflect the health needs of the population that they serve. Following that, it reviews the design and organization of health services to enhance the efficiency with which services are delivered. It concludes by discussing the enablers (i.e. intelligent purchasing, a workforce with the appropriate capacity and capability, and a robust information and knowledge management system) that are necessary to implement, sustain, and enhance these services.
Humanitarian emergencies
Authors: Spencer Craig , Roberts Les
Published: December 2021

The field of humanitarian assistance advanced spectacularly over the last half of the twentieth century. Prolonged high-mortality crises common in the Cold War era have become rare, corresponding with an increase in international spending, a healthier world, and the politicization of humanitarian assistance. This has created a completely new environment for relief workers in the twenty-first century. This new environment requires an emphasis on chronic diseases, urban settings, and people displaced within their own country. The relative importance of natural disasters has also resulted in a new set of skills deemed essential for humanitarian relief. The concepts of disaster preparedness, risk management, and disaster recovery have become central to the humanitarian endeavour and often these responsibilities fall on the shoulders of host governments. This chapter reviews the new environment in which humanitarian relief exists, the dominant emerging themes, and some of the promising technical advances.
Principles of public health emergency response for acute environmental, chemical, and radiation incidents
Authors: Murray Virginia , Waite Thomas , Sutton Paul
Published: December 2021

In recent years there have been many environmental, chemical, and radiation disasters that have challenged the emergency preparedness of countries around the globe. This chapter on the principles of public health emergency response for acute environmental, chemical, and radiation incidents summarizes the stages of response to emergencies using a generic ‘all hazards’ framework and a ‘source–pathway–receptor’ risk assessment model which is adaptable to any situation and conforms with international obligations. The stages identified address incident management arrangements for emergency response including international obligations; public health risk assessment; public health risk management techniques and countermeasures; public reassurance in emergencies and incidents and finally the need to identify and publish the lessons from incidents Remembering that before any response can be mounted, the event has to be detected and identified as requiring special action. Detection requires early warning and forecasting to clinical awareness, timely surveillance, and intelligence. A significant number of evidence gaps remain and so detailed documentation and follow-up of future incidents will continue to be needed to fill those gaps and improve emergency preparedness and response in the future. By the use of case studies of some significant environmental, chemical, and radiological incidents and processes the stages of the emergency response are illustrated to facilitate an all hazards approach.
Rituximab in remission induction and maintenance therapy for microscopic polyangiitis associated with gastric cancer: A case report
Authors: Aritomi Takafumi , Nawata Masao , Nawata Aya , Himeno Yoshihisa , Saito Kazuyoshi , Tanaka Yoshiya
Published: December 2021

We herein report a case of a patient with gastric cancer-associated microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) who was treated with combination glucocorticoids and rituximab (RTX) for remission induction and maintenance, and finally to discontinue glucocorticoids without recurrence of gastric cancer or MPA in a year. A 69-year-old man was suspected of having MPA because of fever, high C-reactive protein levels, neuritis, and a high titer of myeloperoxidase-anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA). Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy indicated early-stage gastric cancer, for which he underwent surgery preceded by immunosuppressive therapy for vasculitis. Histopathological images showed vasculitis in the vicinity of the cancerous tissue, suggesting an association between gastric cancer and vasculitis. Postoperatively, fever and inflammatory response improved, but MPO-ANCA increased further and the patient developed alveolar hemorrhage. He resulted in remission with high-dose glucocorticoids and RTX, and he received maintenance therapy with RTX without additional immunosuppressive agents. After 1 year of treatment, he was able to discontinue glucocorticoids without recurrence of gastric cancer or vasculitis. There is no established treatment for malignancy-associated vasculitis other than glucocorticoids. Although more cases need to be accumulated in the future, RTX is expected to be useful in malignancy-associated vasculitis.
Introduction
Authors: Diner Hasia R.
Published: December 2021

Not only has diaspora been one of the key realities of the long history of the Jews, but it also has dominated historical thinking about that phenomenon. Historians have divided over the origins of the Jewish diaspora, debating how much it reflected the negative forces of expulsion and persecution or how much new opportunities in places more conducive to their security and prosperity opened up to them. Historians have also debated the impact of diaspora as either a source of strength and creativity as opposed to a clearly negative side effect of the lack of territorial sovereignty. Either way, the history of the Jews cannot and has not been told without an understanding of the centrality of diaspora.
Jewish Languages
Authors: Hary Benjamin
Published: December 2021

This chapter discusses the use of language varieties in the Jewish diaspora experience in the framework of sociolinguistic studies. Wherever Jews have lived and either wished to distinguish themselves from their neighbors or were encouraged or forced to distinguish themselves, they did so through clothing, food, ritual, and also through language: they have spoken and written somewhat differently from their neighbors around them. Examining the Jewish linguistic spectrum through theories of language continuum, distinctiveness, and repertoire allows us to recognize patterns and commonalities across time and a space. Sociocultural and sociolinguistic analysis of Jewish religiolects demonstrates a tight connection between language and religion, while also helping elucidate the ways in which Jews—as well as non-Jews—have crossed religious boundaries.
The Role of Images
Authors: Haug Annette
Published: December 2021

This chapter introduces the role of images, their power, and agency. Starting with the anthropological and powerful character of images, focus shifts to a historical specification of potential uses of images. As a case study, discussion refers to the transition from Hellenistic to early imperial Italy, a period when the frequency of images massively increased, and new media, materials, and production techniques came into play. This entailed not only the creation of new visual formulas and styles but also new image contexts and perceptual situations. Examination of this historical process allows for a reflection on the agents involved, as well as their specific interests and forms of (inter-)action. This, in turn, will allow for some insights into the historically specific interests invested in images, as well as some general reflections on the role of images.
Public Sculpture and Social Practice in the Roman Empire
Authors: Thill Elizabeth Wolfram
Published: December 2021

One of the more fruitful lines of research in recent decades has been the exploration of how Roman sculpture interacted with the lives of its contemporary viewers. This chapter employs monumental reliefs, large-scale sculptures set up in public areas by official authorities, as a case study to examine how sculpture contributed to social practice under the Roman emperors. Particular focus is given to the phenomenon of imperial portrait types, the blending of history and myth in sculpted narratives, issues of visibility, and the afterlife of some reliefs. The chapter also examines possible means of evaluating responses to relief monuments, from provincial imitations, to private copies in other media, to the written record. In the end, monumental reliefs prove an excellent means to highlight the general dissonance between ancient and modern perceptions of sculpture.
Pottery, Glass, and the Pictorial Habit between Late Republic and Early Empire
Authors: Flecker Manuel
Published: December 2021

In the period of classical antiquity, art objects, especially objects of ceramic and glass, were not always used as image bearers to the same extent. Depending upon the prevalent pictorial habit, the phenomenon of images was by no means de rigueur, and imagery was used optionally depending upon the historical, political, and social situation. This chapter focuses on the late Roman Republic and the early imperial period. Like no other period of antiquity, the time span between the second century bce and the first century ce was a phase of accelerated change and upheaval but also one of consolidation. In this period, a pictorial habit developed that differed enormously from the artistic practice of the preceding period and that also continued into the imperial period. Furthermore, imagery was no longer limited to consumption by the elite class but was also available to the broader population. The development of ceramic and glass as visual media provides an excellent example of the profound changes in the culture of the image.
Theoretical Approaches to Roman Imagery and Iconography
Authors: Rowan Clare
Published: December 2021

This chapter presents a selection of interdisciplinary approaches used within the study of Roman visual culture. Iconology, creolization, hybridization, and entanglement are discussed alongside the problems of ‘Romanization’. Emphasis is given to the idea that images, like objects, have a biography and live a social life. Images in this sense can have a range of meanings depending on context and user. The role of images in Roman imperialism and memory is explored, with case studies including funerary contexts, the conquest of Egypt in 30 bce, the formation of Nemausus as a colony, and the siege of Jerusalem in 70 ce.
Images and Interpretation of Africans in Roman Art and Social Practice
Authors: Bell Sinclair W.
Published: December 2021

The representation of foreign cultures with manifest ethnic or “racial” differences, such as unfamiliar physical traits or exotic dress, has been a long-standing and often visceral site for human artistic expression. The visual and material culture of the Roman Empire provides an abundant record of such encounters which render visible complex formulations of ethnicity, social hierarchies, and power. The present chapter focuses on how artists represented the peoples whom Romans referred to as Aethiopians or Nubians (i.e., sub-Saharan or “Black” Africans) in different visual media, and it explores issues related to the social functions, patronage, and viewership of these works. In particular, the chapter discusses the formalized conventions, object types, and display contexts of their representations; examines the two critical axioms of their study (the philological and social historical); and maps out recent approaches to and future directions in their interpretation.
Iconography of the Non-Iconic
Authors: Anguissola Anna
Published: December 2021

This chapter examines the role of non-iconic elements in the Roman visual arts, highlighting their contribution for the purposes of identifying, situating, and characterizing individual figures and whole scenes. Non-iconic or non-figural elements such as bases, frames, or supports, as well as features that relate to the material identity of an artwork (e.g., the type of metal, stone, and pigments), do not refer to things or facts about the subject or outside the artwork itself. Nonetheless, these elements play an essential role in establishing the meaning and context of an image. As recent scholarship has demonstrated, they participate in a complex semantics of visual codes and stereotypes designed to assist viewers in making sense of an image at both immediate and more sophisticated levels.
Drug Users: A Case Study
Authors: Turner Tim , Colombo Tony
Published: December 2021

The aim of this chapter is to demonstrate how ethnographic research can generate unique insights into the situated meaning of illicit drug use within bounded play spaces of pleasure and excess. The case study draws on three summers of participant observation with British tourists on the Balearic island of Ibiza, a holiday resort culturally defined by narratives of hedonism, drugs and dance music. The chapter discusses three principal aspects of the ethnographic research. First, a step-by-step outline of the methodological framework is provided. Second, key findings on the pleasures of drug use are discussed, demonstrating how ethnography can generate unique insights into this area of study. Third, future directions for ethnographic research in relation to drug users are proposed.
Ethnographies of Drug Dealers
Authors: Curtis Ric , Begum Popy
Published: December 2021

This chapter examines how ethnographers and qualitative researchers have described drug dealers. Written as an interview, the chapter touches on many of the themes and tropes that have characterized the literature about drug dealers, including their propensity to violence, their hedonism, the apparent increase in the number of women in the business, their problematic family lives, and their lack of attachment to the workforce. The chapter explains how research funding that prioritized drug dealers at the bottom of the economic hierarchy and overlooked those at the top has sometimes led to peculiar characterizations of drug dealers and particular kinds of explanatory frameworks that are often rooted in thin subcultural soil. Ethnography about drug dealers in the service of government-funded research has transformed the field from ones dominated by individuals who conducted community studies to one where ethnographers work as part of a team to produce narrow findings that supplement, contextualize, and help explain survey data. Going forward, the ethnography of drug dealers will benefit from greater awareness of the importance of reflexivity in the field and from partnerships that enrich our understanding and act as a corrective to our individual myopic perspectives.
Ethnographic Reflections on Event-Time in Jail
Authors: Walker Michael L.
Published: December 2021

This chapter marshals ethnographic data from county jails in southern California to examine how a penal environment shapes the ways prisoners experience time, track time, and orient themselves to the past, present, or future. Building from research that conceptualizes the ordering of social behavior according to “event” or “clock” time, it is argued that incoming prisoners experience a disorienting incongruity between clock time in free society and event time in jail. Temporal congruity is conceptualized as another kind of social need like identity verification, group inclusivity, and other basic social needs identified by social psychologists. Additionally, and in part because penal time was organized around events, prisoners use somewhat idiosyncratic quality-of-life events to create timetables and thereby break indefinite time into manageable segments. Finally, a relationship between self-efficacy and temporal orientation (past, present, or future) is shown with the argument that as self-efficacy increases, so does the likelihood of prisoners being oriented to the future. On the other hand, the lower the self-efficacy, the greater the likelihood of an orientation to the present. Given the findings, it is recommended that jails operate on more conventional time schedules with regular access to natural light. This work has implications for the sociology of time as well as future studies of punishment.
Ethnographies on Prisoner Reentry
Authors: Leverentz Andrea
Published: December 2021

This chapter discusses ethnographies of reentry, or the process of people returning from prison to the community. In the chapter, both ethnography and reentry are defined broadly. For example, qualitative interviewing, participation observation, and a combination thereof are included under an umbrella of “ethnography.” These studies share an inductive or abductive analysis, with iterative engagement between data and existing literature and theories, and therefore the possibility for theoretical development. While much of the focus is on the return of people to the community after a period of incarceration, key works that focus on adjacent concepts, such as desistance, or why and how people with a pattern and history of offending stop, are also included. The chapter begins with a discussion of major ethnographic works on reentry, organized by those that focus on the individuals experiencing reentry (including major subgroups, such as men or women, people of different race/ethnic groups, youth, or young adults) and those that focus on systems and organizations. Then, it discusses major methodological issues, including researcher positionality. It concludes with brief discussions of future directions, which build both on earlier findings and on new technologies, and policy suggestions that emerge from both findings and practices in ethnographic work.
Politics, Policy, and Crime Ethnography
Authors: Guzik Keith , Marx Gary T.
Published: December 2021

This chapter encourages social scientists, policy planners, and public administrators to reflect critically on the methods used to define crime problems and policy responses to them. It argues for the increased use of ethnographic methods in formulating policy by seeking points of connection with quantitative approaches. Quantitative methods are better suited for crime policy given their methodological rigor, instrumental and programmatic orientation, and relatively low costs per datum unit. However, qualitative methods have a complementary role to play, being better attuned to the subjective experiences of crime and crime control and better able to illustrate factors correlated with these phenomena. Ethnographic methods permit reflexivity regarding the broader settings and specific contexts of crime and criminological research. Two cases of ethnographic techniques within criminal justice practice are shared to demonstrate their viability—one from the US Department of Justice and another from Court Watch Poland. The chapter finishes with lessons for researchers and policy planners, including the importance of engaging in collaborative research, triangulating methods, embracing uncomfortable findings, and reconsidering research ethics.
Global Crime Ethnographies: Three Suggestions for a Criminology That Truly Travels
Authors: Vigh Henrik , Sausdal David
Published: December 2021

This chapter proposes a novel ethnographic approach to global crime/criminology—an approach centered on the following four main points: (1) an attentiveness to how global dynamics afford criminal flows and transnational figurations; (2) a theoretical and methodological sensibility that moves beyond methodological nationalism; (3) a research design that follows criminal flows, rather than merely investigating their starting, middle, or endpoints; and (4) an approach that takes flows to constitute the spatial criminal(ized) phenomena being research, rather than being epiphenomenal to such crime. In criminology, looking at a growlingly globalized world of crime and criminalization, there have been increasing calls for a globalization of criminological methods and theories—or for a “criminology that travels.” With such calls in mind, following the four points may be what is needed to make criminology sufficiently itinerant in a global day and age.
Towards a Cognitively Based Quantification of Metrical Dissonance
Authors: Gotham Mark
Published: December 2021

Metrical dissonance is a powerful tool for creating and manipulating musical tension. The relative extent of tension can be more or less acute depending (in part) on the type of dissonance used and moving among those dissonance types can contribute to the shape of a musical work. This chapter sets out a model for quantifying relative dissonance that incorporates experimentally substantiated principles of cognitive science. Online supplements for this chapter at www.oup.com/us/ohtm   provide mathematical formalisations of the principles discussed (Supplement 1) and an interactive guide for testing out these ideas (Supplement 2). We begin with a basic model of metre where a metrical position’s weight is given simply by the number of pulse levels coinciding there. This alone enables a telling categorization of displacement dissonances for simple metres and a first sense of the relative differences between them. These arbitrary weighting ‘values’ are then refined on the basis of tempo and pulse salience. This provides a more subtle set of gradations that reflect the cognitive experience of metre somewhat better while still retaining a clear sense of the simple principles that govern relative dissonance. Additionally, this chapter sees the model applied in a brief, illustrative analysis and in a preliminary extension to ‘mixed’ metres (5s, 7s,…). This sheds light on known problems such as the relative stability of mixed metres in different rotations, and suggests a new way of thinking about mixed metres’ relative susceptibility to metrical dissonance.
The Politics of Musical Time in the Everyday Life of Ballet Dancers
Authors: Still Jonathan
Published: December 2021

This chapter discusses disagreements and misunderstandings about musical time in the context of ballet classes and rehearsals, and the degree to which musicians’ metric-counting is regarded by both musicians and dancers as more correct than ‘dancers’ counts’. Metrical anomalies in music by Tchaikovsky, Bizet, and Verdi used in children’s ballet classes are examined in the light of research by William Rothstein on national metrical types and Franco-Italian hypermetre, and found to be less anomalous than they might seem at first. The problems of representation and human movement in these examples are discussed with reference to debates about dance in non-representational theory (NRT), and conceptual and disciplinary boundaries in music and dance scholarship.
Here at the Bottom of the Sky…: Negotiating Time through Phrase, Form, and Tradition within a New York Performance Network
Authors: Bakkum Nathan C.
Published: December 2021

While improvisational interaction is often understood as the momentary give-and-take between musicians in performance, this chapter considers ways in which relationships between improvisers function at a range of different timescales. Organized around extensive conversation with drummer Tom Rainey, bassist Drew Gress, and other members of their performance network, the chapter reveals ways in which this group of musicians employs shared cognitive schemas, collaborative approaches to composition, and common musical histories to shape small- and large-scale musical time at the levels of gesture, form, and tradition. Through analysis of musical examples from several of Rainey’s working ensembles, the chapter demonstrates specific ways in which those shared conceptions of time are realized in sound.