Radiation Brain Moms and Citizen Scientists

Radiation Brain Moms and Citizen Scientists
Author :
Publisher : Duke University Press
Total Pages : 194
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780822373964
ISBN-13 : 0822373963
Rating : 4/5 (64 Downloads)

Synopsis Radiation Brain Moms and Citizen Scientists by : Aya Hirata Kimura

Following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster in 2011 many concerned citizens—particularly mothers—were unconvinced by the Japanese government’s assurances that the country’s food supply was safe. They took matters into their own hands, collecting their own scientific data that revealed radiation-contaminated food. In Radiation Brain Moms and Citizen Scientists Aya Hirata Kimura shows how, instead of being praised for their concern about their communities’ health and safety, they faced stiff social sanctions, which dismissed their results by attributing them to the work of irrational and rumor-spreading women who lacked scientific knowledge. These citizen scientists were unsuccessful at gaining political traction, as they were constrained by neoliberal and traditional gender ideologies that dictated how private citizens—especially women—should act. By highlighting the challenges these citizen scientists faced, Kimura provides insights into the complicated relationship between science, foodways, gender, and politics in post-Fukushima Japan and beyond.

Food Safety after Fukushima

Food Safety after Fukushima
Author :
Publisher : University of Hawaii Press
Total Pages : 0
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780824884321
ISBN-13 : 0824884329
Rating : 4/5 (21 Downloads)

Synopsis Food Safety after Fukushima by : Nicolas Sternsdorff-Cisterna

The triple disaster that struck Japan in March 2011 forced people living there to confront new risks in their lives. Despite the Japanese government’s reassurance that radiation exposure would be small and unlikely to affect the health of the general population, many questioned the government’s commitment to protecting their health. The disaster prompted them to become vigilant about limiting their risk exposure, and food emerged as a key area where citizens could determine their own levels of acceptable risk. Food Safety after Fukushima examines the process by which notions about what is safe to eat were formulated after the nuclear meltdown. Its central argument is that as citizens informed themselves about potential risks, they also became savvier in their assessment of the government’s handling of the crisis. The author terms this “Scientific Citizenship,” and he shows that the acquisition of scientific knowledge on the part of citizens resulted in a transformed relationship between individuals and the state. Groups of citizens turned to existing and newly formed organizations where food was sourced from areas far away from the nuclear accident or screened to stricter standards than those required by the state. These organizations enabled citizens to exchange information about the disaster, meet food producers, and work to establish networks of trust where food they considered safe could circulate. Based on extensive fieldwork and interviews with citizens groups, mothers’ associations, farmers, government officials, and retailers, Food Safety after Fukushima reflects on how social relations were affected by the accident. The author vividly depicts an environment where trust between food producers and consumers had been shaken, where people felt uneasy about their food choices and the consequences they might have for their children, and where farmers were forced to deal with the consequences of pollution that was not of their making. Most poignantly, the book conveys the heavy burden now attached to the name “Fukushima” in the popular imagination and explores efforts to resurrect it.

Science by the People

Science by the People
Author :
Publisher : Rutgers University Press
Total Pages : 240
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780813595092
ISBN-13 : 0813595096
Rating : 4/5 (92 Downloads)

Synopsis Science by the People by : Aya H. Kimura

Longlisted for the Fleck Prize from the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) Citizen science—research involving nonprofessionals in the research process—has attracted both strong enthusiasts and detractors. Many environmental professionals, activists, and scholars consider citizen science part of their toolkit for addressing environmental challenges. Critics, however, contend that it represents a corporate takeover of scientific priorities. In this timely book, two sociologists move beyond this binary debate by analyzing the tensions and dilemmas that citizen science projects commonly face. Key lessons are drawn from case studies where citizen scientists have investigated the impact of shale oil and gas, nuclear power, and genetically engineered crops. These studies show that diverse citizen science projects face shared dilemmas relating to austerity pressures, presumed boundaries between science and activism, and difficulties moving between scales of environmental problems. By unpacking the politics of citizen science, this book aims to help people negotiate a complex political landscape and choose paths moving toward social change and environmental sustainability.

Disasters and Social Crisis in Contemporary Japan

Disasters and Social Crisis in Contemporary Japan
Author :
Publisher : Springer
Total Pages : 433
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781137521323
ISBN-13 : 1137521325
Rating : 4/5 (23 Downloads)

Synopsis Disasters and Social Crisis in Contemporary Japan by : Mark R. Mullins

Japan was shaken by the 'double disaster' of earthquake and sarin gas attack in 1995, and in 2011 it was hit once again by the 'triple disaster' of earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown. This international, multi-disciplinary group of scholars examines the state and societal responses to the disasters and social crisis.

Multiple Nature-Cultures, Diverse Anthropologies

Multiple Nature-Cultures, Diverse Anthropologies
Author :
Publisher : Berghahn Books
Total Pages : 169
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781789205404
ISBN-13 : 1789205409
Rating : 4/5 (04 Downloads)

Synopsis Multiple Nature-Cultures, Diverse Anthropologies by : Casper Bruun Jensen

Over time, the role of nature in anthropology has evolved from being a mere backdrop for social and cultural diversity to being viewed as an integral part of the ontological entanglement of human and nonhuman agents. This transformation of the role of nature offers important insight into the relationships between diverse anthropological traditions. By highlighting natural-cultural worlds alongside these traditions, Multiple Nature-Cultures, Diverse Anthropologies explores the potential for creating more sophisticated conjunctions of anthropological knowledge and practice.

The Science of Citizen Science

The Science of Citizen Science
Author :
Publisher : Springer Nature
Total Pages : 520
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9783030582784
ISBN-13 : 3030582787
Rating : 4/5 (84 Downloads)

Synopsis The Science of Citizen Science by : Katrin Vohland

This open access book discusses how the involvement of citizens into scientific endeavors is expected to contribute to solve the big challenges of our time, such as climate change and the loss of biodiversity, growing inequalities within and between societies, and the sustainability turn. The field of citizen science has been growing in recent decades. Many different stakeholders from scientists to citizens and from policy makers to environmental organisations have been involved in its practice. In addition, many scientists also study citizen science as a research approach and as a way for science and society to interact and collaborate. This book provides a representation of the practices as well as scientific and societal outcomes in different disciplines. It reflects the contribution of citizen science to societal development, education, or innovation and provides and overview of the field of actors as well as on tools and guidelines. It serves as an introduction for anyone who wants to get involved in and learn more about the science of citizen science.

Clinical Case Studies for the Family Nurse Practitioner

Clinical Case Studies for the Family Nurse Practitioner
Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages : 432
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781118277850
ISBN-13 : 1118277856
Rating : 4/5 (50 Downloads)

Synopsis Clinical Case Studies for the Family Nurse Practitioner by : Leslie Neal-Boylan

Clinical Case Studies for the Family Nurse Practitioner is a key resource for advanced practice nurses and graduate students seeking to test their skills in assessing, diagnosing, and managing cases in family and primary care. Composed of more than 70 cases ranging from common to unique, the book compiles years of experience from experts in the field. It is organized chronologically, presenting cases from neonatal to geriatric care in a standard approach built on the SOAP format. This includes differential diagnosis and a series of critical thinking questions ideal for self-assessment or classroom use.

Hiroshima Traces

Hiroshima Traces
Author :
Publisher : Univ of California Press
Total Pages : 326
Release :
ISBN-10 : 0520085876
ISBN-13 : 9780520085879
Rating : 4/5 (76 Downloads)

Synopsis Hiroshima Traces by : Lisa Yoneyama

Remembering Hiroshima is a complicated and highly politicized process. This book explores some unconventional texts and dimensions of culture involved, including history textbook controversies, tourism and urban renewal projects, campaigns to preserve atomic ruins and survivor testimonials.

Food and Femininity

Food and Femininity
Author :
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages : 241
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780857855565
ISBN-13 : 0857855565
Rating : 4/5 (65 Downloads)

Synopsis Food and Femininity by : Kate Cairns

Over the space of a few generations, women's relationship with food has changed dramatically. Yet – despite significant advances in gender equality – food and femininity remain closely connected in the public imagination as well as the emotional lives of women. While women encounter food-related pressures and pleasures as individuals, the social challenge to perform food femininities remains: as the nurturing mother, the talented home cook, the conscientious consumer, the svelte and health-savvy eater. In Food and Femininity, Kate Cairns and Josée Johnston explore these complex and often emotionally-charged tensions to demonstrate that food is essential to the understanding of femininity today. Drawing on extensive qualitative research in Toronto, they present the voices of over 100 food-oriented men and women from a range of race and class backgrounds. Their research reveals gendered expectations to purchase, prepare, and enjoy food within the context of time crunches, budget restrictions, political commitments, and the pressure to manage health and body weight. The book analyses how women navigate multiple aspects of foodwork for themselves and others, from planning meals, grocery shopping, and feeding children, to navigating conflicting preferences, nutritional and ethical advice, and the often-inequitable division of household labour. What emerges is a world in which women's choices continue to be closely scrutinized – a world where 'failing' at food is still perceived as a failure of femininity. A compelling rethink of contemporary femininity, this is an indispensable read for anyone interested in the sociology of food, gender studies and consumer culture.

Hidden Hunger

Hidden Hunger
Author :
Publisher : Cornell University Press
Total Pages : 241
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780801467684
ISBN-13 : 0801467683
Rating : 4/5 (84 Downloads)

Synopsis Hidden Hunger by : Aya Hirata Kimura

For decades, NGOs targeting world hunger focused on ensuring that adequate quantities of food were being sent to those in need. In the 1990s, the international food policy community turned its focus to the "hidden hunger" of micronutrient deficiencies, a problem that resulted in two scientific solutions: fortification, the addition of nutrients to processed foods, and biofortification, the modification of crops to produce more nutritious yields. This hidden hunger was presented as a scientific problem to be solved by "experts" and scientifically engineered smart foods rather than through local knowledge, which was deemed unscientific and, hence, irrelevant.In Hidden Hunger, Aya Hirata Kimura explores this recent emphasis on micronutrients and smart foods within the international development community and, in particular, how the voices of women were silenced despite their expertise in food purchasing and preparation. Kimura grounds her analysis in case studies of attempts to enrich and market three basic foods—rice, wheat flour, and baby food—in Indonesia. She shows the power of nutritionism and how its technical focus enhanced the power of corporations as a government partner while restricting public participation in the making of policy for public health and food. She also analyzes the role of advertising to promote fortified foodstuffs and traces the history of Golden Rice, a crop genetically engineered to alleviate vitamin A deficiencies. Situating the recent turn to smart food in Indonesia and elsewhere as part of a long history of technical attempts to solve the Third World food problem, Kimura deftly analyzes the intersection of scientific expertise, market forces, and gendered knowledge to illuminate how hidden hunger ultimately defined women as victims rather than as active agents.