The influenza pandemic in colonial Asante: Lesson drawing for the fight against COVID-19 in the twenty-first century

This paper pays attention to colonial strategies that were deployed to fight against the influenza pandemic among the Asante of Ghana. It does a comparative analysis of the outbreak and mode of spread of COVID-19 and influenza pandemics in Ghana and Asante, in particular. Based on the theory of lesson-drawing, the authors aimed to ascertain whether the strategies adopted to fight the current COVID-19 pandemic reminisce the earlier strategies deployed during the influenza pandemic of 1918. Based on primary and secondary data, the authors have constructed a history which proffers some insights into the fight against COVID-19. Authors conclude that the various health interventions toward the prevention and control of influenza in Asante during the colonial period were skewed in favour of Europeans and natives who worked within the colonial civil service. This did not support relevant strategies and efforts to reduce the spread of the disease at a faster pace. Despite several efforts made to curtail the spread of the disease, the colonial administration together with traditional authorities encountered challenges of inadequate health personnel, culture conflict, financial. The role of security agencies and the collaboration between the colonial administration and traditional authorities offer a very significant lesson for confronting the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana.

Land sustainability for public cemeteries in KHDTK Hambala: a preliminary study on the borrow-to-use forest area with a cooperation mechanism in Sumba, Indonesia

Deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic in East Sumba raised the problem of limited burial grounds, so the government tried to provide a new location. The Hambala Special Purpose Forest Area (KHDTK) has a potential land to be used as a burial site by MoEF Regulation No.P.27/2018. The study analyzed the suitability of burial grounds using a GIS-based multi-criteria approach. Criteria and indicators cover the legality (license status of forests, policies), management (master plans, detailed plans), technical (human resources, infrastructure), socio-economic (pandemic, grave needs, economic impacts, culture, conflict), and ecological (topography, land cover, distance to water sources and settlements). A multi-criteria evaluation of the proposed use of KHDTK covering an area of 17 ha resulted in three scenarios of the burial land suitability map, namely the ‘strict scenario’ covering an area of 1.5 hectares; moderate scenario covering an area of 6.5 hectares, and ‘scenario loosely’ covering an area of 14.2 hectares. The third scenario as a reference for managers and stakeholders is lend-use of Forest Areas for burial grounds by government cooperation mechanism.

The Cultural Defence

This chapter considers how arguments based on cultural traditions and customary law influence the reasoning of judges in various jurisdictions through the use of cultural defences. A survey of cases reveals that judges consistently refuse to allow the introduction of evidence concerning litigants’ cultural backgrounds in legal proceedings. As explained here, the prescriptive version of cultural relativism calls attention to the context in which individuals act under cultural imperatives. It is the underlying theory that justifies culturally specific notions of reasonableness in criminal law and civil litigation. Although the defence is sometimes understood as limited to criminal cases, the chapter demonstrates how cultural factors also figure in cases involving exemptions and calculating damages in civil litigation. The chapter identifies several types of culture conflict, considers a theoretical framework for analysing cultural defences, and discusses practical difficulties associated with the implementation of the cultural defence policy. Anthropologists are often asked to serve as expert witnesses in these cases. How their involvement in the justice system may affect their professional reputations is also assessed. The final section offers suggestions as to likely new areas where cultural defences will be raised, such as military tribunals and educational systems. While proponents of the strategy contend that the courtroom door should be open to cultural argumentation, this does not mean the cultural factors should necessarily influence the disposition of the cases, particularly if the customs central to the dispute involve irreparable harm.

Integration of the Confucian Culture on Cross-Cultural Conflict Management: The Role of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cross-culture conflict management is the major challenge for the Chinese enterprises going global along the Belt and Road Initiative. This study explores the feasibility of integrating the Confucian culture into cross-culture conflict management, and a special role is given to the COVID-19 pandemic. We combine the Confucian culture values and Hofstede’s cultural dimension theory and adopt the questionnaire survey methods on the Chinese multinational enterprises’ employees. The Cronbach’s Alpha method is also deployed to test the reliability and validity of the data. We find the significant integration of the Confucian culture into cross-culture conflict management. Furthermore, 16 sub-values of the Confucian culture are suggested to mitigate the cross-culture conflicts in multinational enterprises effectively. The findings imply that Chinese enterprises should consider new strategies to manage the cross-culture conflicts, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The root causes of landslide vulnerability in Bangladesh

Communities living in the Chittagong Hill Districts (CHD) of Bangladesh recurrently observe landslide disasters during the monsoon season (June–September). CHD is primarily dominated by three distinct groups of hill communities, namely, urbanised hill (Bengali), indigenous tribal and stateless Rohingya refugees. Landslide vulnerability amongst them is complex and varies between physical, social, economic, environmental, institutional and cultural dimensions. This study aims to understand driving forces of landslide disasters in the region by emphasising human factors. Data from the three contrasting communities were collected through participatory workshops, in-depth interviews and fieldwork observation. The participants were local people and landslide experts who were purposefully selected from five case study communities in the CHD. They ranked different socio-economic problems, identified causes of landslides and proposed landslide mitigation action plans. Results suggest that the urbanised Bengali and Rohingya refugee communities are highly vulnerable to landslides. The urbanised hill communities largely deal with poverty, social injustice, lack of planning regulations and illegal hill cutting issues, whereas the Rohingya refugees’ predominant constraints are linked to the ongoing genocide and state-sponsored violence in Myanmar hindering their sustainable repatriation, and their protracted living conditions in Bangladesh. The indigenous tribal communities are comparatively resilient to landslides due to their unique history, traditional knowledge, cultural heritage and lifestyle. Landslides in the CHD should be characterised as socio-natural hazards since the components of landslide disasters are profoundly intertwined with the culture–conflict–corruption nexus.

Cultural bereavement, cultural congruity, and identities

Acculturation and cultural identity are influenced by a number of factors. The concepts of cultural consonance and cultural congruity may need to be taken into account in clinical settings to ensure that clinicians are aware of cultural variations. Cultural consonance is related to the observations that culture is both in the individual and in the group the individual belongs to. Culture congruity is the process of understanding whether the individual living with other members of their culture carry similar dimensions of culture. The likelihood of culture conflict within the same culture and across the majority culture needs to be taken into account while assessing individuals. Personality factors will also play a role in the development of various psychiatric disorders, as will cultural dimensions and cultures within which individuals live, work, play, and age in.

Runggu or local wisdom-based conflict resolution: The role of the Pengituai Kuta

Conflict resolution is needed by society, especially in Indonesia, which has a diverse culture; it is inherent in the culture. Conflict resolution based on local wisdom is needed to create peace in society because it always strives to produce decisions that are win-win solutions. This research examines the importance and role of local wisdom as a form of conflict resolution in society and examines the role of the Pengituai Kuta in Pakpak culture as a conflict resolution method. This research is qualitative research with a case study approach conducted in Matanari Hamlet, Ujung Teran Village, Dairi Regency, North Sumatra. The data collection techniques used were semi-structured interviews, observation, and literature study. The subject of information in this study consisted of three people, namely one member of Pengituai Kuta Matanari (JM) and the Head of Matanari Hamlet (PP), and Cultural Practitioner or Humanist Pakpak (LB). According to Miles and Huberman’s model, the data is processed, which includes the collection, reduction, presentation, and conclusion. This finding shows that the Pengituai Kuta has an essential and influential role in resolving horizontal conflicts in Matanari Hamlet. The local wisdom of the Indonesian people already has conflict resolution systems and methods. In Pakpak culture, Pengituai Kuta refers to representatives of community leaders who are considered experienced and exemplary. Every conflict is resolved by deliberation-consensus (runggu) in an open, egalitarian, and full of brotherhood.