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- Convenor:
-
Tiluttoma Baruah
(Cotton College, Assam)
- Chair:
-
Premananda Bharati
(Indian Statistical Institute)
- Location:
- Multi Purpose Room
- Start time:
- 16 May, 2014 at
Time zone: Asia/Tokyo
- Session slots:
- 2
Short Abstract:
Human health condition is shaped by interaction between its diverse socio-cultural norms and socio-biological practices. This panel emphasize on changing global scenario of bio-cultural approach in human health study in retrospect and prospect.
Long Abstract:
Human society consists of numerous social, ethnic, linguistic, religious and territorial groups. Health is everybody's concern. Determinants of health vary between geographical regions, cultural groups and also between the countries of various economic statuses. The health status of human is influenced by its variety of cultural behavior and biological factors. Some cultural practices widely ubiquitous in the area of health care. Bio-cultural studies offer valuable designs for studying the interface between biological and cultural factors affecting human well-being. This interface has been reconnoitered in many ways since last five/six decades. It is proposed in this panel to integrating the approaches and methodologies of both social and biological studies related to human health in retrospect and prospect.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Paper short abstract:
The concept of health and diseases are basically universal. However, traits like belief, education, philosophy, religion, socio-economic conditions, determine people’s attitude towards health and illness.
Paper long abstract:
Every society has the concept of disease and provides an efficacious treatment. The medical system prevalent in a society is a combination of beliefs, ecological adaptation, techniques and tradition. This system is an integral part of the culture of the society. It provides the means to the members of the society for maintaining health and eliminating disease. When we consider environmental factors of the diseases, these cultural factors become more evident. Women have diseases particular to them. The rich heritage of ethnomedicine among the Assamese people pertaining to curing diseases of women led the author to record the use of medicinal plants integral to diseases of women in an around Mangaldai town of Darrang District, Assam.
Paper short abstract:
The present paper is based on secondary sources published in various journals and books. The study of sickle cell anaemia can be used as useful genetic marker. The high magnitude of sickle cell gene has been located from South India followed by Central and Western with sporadic cases from Eastern India.
Paper long abstract:
Sickle haemoglobin is a structural variant of normal adult haemoglobin results from a single amino acid of beta globin molecule (β 6Glu→Val). Sickle cell is most common pathological haemoglobin variant in the world. The data includes from castes and communities, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes covering western, southern, central, northern and eastern India. In India study on sickle cell anaemia mostly confined on tribal groups and very few on other populations. In India, HbS gene ranges from 0 to 40 % among different Indian populations that includes castes, communities and tribes. Among Mahar HbS ranges from 0 to 24 % while that of sickle cell disease ranges from 0 to 6 %. In other caste groups it ranges from 0 to 9 % while among Brahmin and Muslim populations it ranges from 0 to 4.5 % and 0 to 3 % respectively. Sickle cell present in high frequency among the scheduled tribes as compared to other ethnic groups- castes, scheduled castes and communities. The high magnitude of sickle cell gene has been located from South India followed by Central, Western with sporadic cases from Eastern India.
Paper short abstract:
In this paper attempts were made to find out the growth pattern of Assamese and Bengali children of south Guwahati of Kamrup district, Assam, India.
Paper long abstract:
The result of a cross sectional study of growth in height, horizontal circumference of the head, girth of bicep, girth of chest, girth of calf and weight of children of both sexes(n=1604) under 10 yrs of age of south Guwahati are presented. The children are divided into into Assamese and Bengali speaking groups. The study reveals that the Assamese children are the tallest and the heaviest and the Bengali children are shortest and the lightest in almost all the ages. In other charecters also the Assamese children show highest and the Bengali children show the lowest mean values in most of the ages.
Key words: Growth, cross sectional study, Assamese and Bengali
Paper short abstract:
Health is an urgent need for human development and is essentially concerned with the betterment of humankind.Traditional knowledge always plays an important role in the health care system of each indigenous community, though in contemporary times the modern medicare system has influenced the same.
Paper long abstract:
The overall health status of the tribal community is the outcome of the several interacting factors. The health of the tribal people has been invariably connected with socio-cultural and magico-religious practices since ancient times. They have developed indigenous way of healing practices to protect their health against various kinds of diseases. There is a popular belief prevalent among them is that some of the diseases are caused by evil spirits as well as malevolent deities for which they observe specific rituals to appease them. Again, the pristine method of curing diseases and ailments in general are done by application of varieties of wild roots, herbs, plant as well as animal parts. However, with the establishment of modern Medicare facilities within the rural tribal areas, they avail the benefits of the same along with integrally sticking to their pristine medicare system. The Deori is an important schedule tribes distributed mainly in the plain areas of Upper Assam. Among the Deoris of Assam pristine preventive and curative measures are found till today. In this paper a humble attempt has been made to examine the continuity and change of the health care system of the Deoris of two homogenous Villages of Upper Assam.
Paper short abstract:
A plethora of embellishments have been prevalent among humans since time immemorial to adorn his/her corps. The objectives of such embellishments could have been aplenty. Against this backdrop, this paper focuses on the present and futuristic perspective of human beautification, viz. ‘cosmeticological anthropology’, which could be termed as one of the branches of anthropology. In the light of the above, this paper addresses certain pertinent issues such as the pretext, text and context of beautification and its need to redefine it in the 21st century.
Paper long abstract:
The elements of human beautification and décor or rather the elements of embellishments could be dealt with in Anthropological Studies from various angles. This paper in particular focuses on the present holistic and futuristic perspective of human beautification, viz. cosmeticological anthropology, which could be termed as one of the branches of anthropology, futuristically speaking.
A variety of embellishments of diverse genres have been used by humans since time immemorial to adorn his/her physique, be it body painting, tattooing, dermatological applications drawn from nature or otherwise, decorative accessories from feathers to pearls, etc. The objectives of embellishing oneself could have been aplenty right from attraction to maintenance of human corps. It is in this context that this research paper envisages to unravel what cosmeticology means to modern wo/man today. This research study also addresses the issue of equations between the East and the West in terms of commercialization of cosmeticological embellishing products and the technologies in the context of latest scientific/technological discoveries and innovations. In the passing, it also takes note of the 20th/21st century fashion statements in general & Parisian in particular and the whole gamut of commercialization of it which gets parallel to construction-destruction in terms of human biology.
In the light of the above, certain pertinent anthropological concerns of today shall be taken up, viz. the pretext of popularization, the texts of promotion [which falsify (?) the claims], in the context of a mad race for beautification and its redefinition which is the need of the hour.