SUICIDE, SOCIAL CAPITAL, AND HATE GROUPS IN THE UNITED STATES

In recent years, hate groups have increasingly attracted public attention while at the same time escaping the purview of scholars. Although overt prejudiced attitudes have lost public support in recent decades, hate group and hate-group activity has remained relatively consistent. What, then, explains the enduring power of hate? I argue that hate groups have arisen in reaction to the loss of social capital, particularly in regard to rural and exurban communities. Using county-level suicide rates as a proxy for the loss of social capital, I test this theory using data from the lower 48 states from 2010 to 2019. I find that each 5.38 percent increase in suicide rates is associated with 1 additional hate group forming. These findings highlight the importance of examining quality-of-life in understanding far-right activity, and challenge previous findings with regard to rurality and hate.

Enacting an Indigenist Anthropology: Diversity and Decolonising the Discipline

My doctoral thesis focused on a national epidemiological survey of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing in Australia. I occupied many roles during my study and fieldwork and adapted the practice of my anthropology to fulfil both the goals of my research and my socio-cultural responsibilities as an Aboriginal Australian. Being able to conceptualise one’s diversity and being reflexive in anthropological practice is necessary for researchers undertaking decolonising research in particular. The necessity of this process is not often taught at an institutional level, reflecting (and perpetuating) the lack of diversity within the Academy and the enduring power imbalances between researchers and the Indigenous communities with whom they conduct research. This paper is organised around four principles which are characteristics of a decolonising research model from an Indigenous standpoint — Resistance, Reflexivity, Relationality, and Respect. Through these principles I describe how I enacted an ‘Indigenist anthropology’ which enabled me to be diverse and work towards decolonising the discipline from within the Academy. What this paper highlights is the need for research for, with, and by Indigenous academics, and the need for allies in the Academy who recognise the importance of decolonisation and diversity within anthropology.

Financial abuse, statutory provisions and the courts: adequacy and analysis of enduring and lasting powers of attorney

Purpose Financial abuse can be difficult to detect, and it is deemed to have the same potential to cause distress as other forms of abuse. The delegation of financial affairs brings with it the scope for degrees of exploitation. This study aims to assess the adequacy of the statutory provisions and courts in England and Wales at protecting at risk older people from the harm of financial abuse. Design/methodology/approach This review focuses on the enduring power of attorney and the lasting power of attorney provisions. Cases discussed were selected based on their judgments’ significance in relation to these powers, the range of issues illustrated and the extent of associated commentary and attention received in the literature. This piece is presented as a narrative review, and as such, references to case law and associated commentary are non-exhaustive. Findings Shortcomings and vulnerabilities are identified and explored with respect to both provisions. These are contrasted and contextualised in view of the broader challenges and complexities associated with preventing financial abuse within society. Key consideration is given to powers of creation, registration, supervision, objection and revocation in addition to the role and powers of both the Office of the Public Guardian and the Court of Protection. Originality/value Given these powers of attorney are exercised during a donor’s lifetime, they will directly experience their effects. This review illustrates there remains scope for further reform to introduce new safeguards and bolster existing ones to mitigate the risk of financial exploitation and to support people to plan and safeguard their financial future with increased confidence and security.

Varia: The Enduring Power of the Classical World View

For the poet, prophet, and politician, as for the lover, the king, and the anthropologist, the human is the measure of all things. Philosophers and psychologists define us as a perceiving consciousness, an object determined by the environment, a subject not only capable of heroic individualism but also of esoteric understanding. For some, our measure is beyond things and our true worth lies not only in the here and now but rather in our freedom to transcend the bounds of self and prevail beyond the limits of temporality. For the artist, whose creative consciousness aims to redeem the human image from the constraints of brute anonymity, the questions about our status must be asked if not finally answered. The article considers the role that the classical world view plays in the process of artistic redemption. It looks at the Judeo-Christian and Classical legacies and their interpretations. Nineteenth-century Russian literature and religious philosophy are then analysed. The article winds up with a reading of select poems by Osip Mandelstam as special attention is paid to the ethical stance of the poet when confronted with the dictates of totalitarian power.

Who or what is to blame for the power paradox in society?

We vote for people who seem to be promising good leaders and somehow, they turn out to be terrible leaders. This tendency Keltner (2007) calls the “power paradox”. The moment people gain power or success or wealth, their characteristics of empathy, collaboration, open mindedness, fairness, and generosity vanish into thin air and we have to deal with impulsive and self-serving leaders. The experience of power thus damages leaders’ social intelligence. The author of this article asks: who or what is to be blamed for this power paradox? Keltner suggests that we need people with a focus on others, who have empathy, a giving personality, gratitude, and unifying stories. The author suggests that spiritual intelligence can fix the power paradox in society as she shows that Keltner’s principles for enduring power are no different from the spiritual gifts explained in the Bible of Christianity. Spiritual intelligence is offered as the solution to the power paradox.

Yeshiva Days

New York City's Lower East Side has witnessed a severe decline in its Jewish population in recent decades, yet every morning in the big room of the city's oldest yeshiva, students still gather to study the Talmud beneath the great arched windows facing out onto East Broadway. This book is the author's uniquely personal account of the year he spent as both student and observer at Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem, and a poignant chronicle of a side of Jewish life that outsiders rarely see. The author explores the yeshiva's relationship with the neighborhood, the city, and Jewish and American culture more broadly, and brings vividly to life its routines, rituals, and rhythms. The author describes the compelling and often colorful personalities he encounters each day, and introduces readers to the Rosh Yeshiva, or Rebbi, the moral and intellectual head of the yeshiva. The author reflects on the tantalizing meanings of “study for its own sake” in the intellectually vibrant world of traditional rabbinic learning, and records his fellow students' responses to his negotiation of the daily complexities of yeshiva life while he also conducts anthropological fieldwork. This book is the story of a place on the Lower East Side with its own distinctive heritage and character, a meditation on the enduring power of Jewish tradition and learning, and a record of a different way of engaging with time and otherness.

Islamic Ritual

This chapter begins by introducing readers to the five “pillars of Islam” (arkan al-Islam), as well as to other essential aspects of Islamic ritual (section 1). By so doing, it recognizes the enduring power of these rituals, in particular, to provide all Muslims—despite their differences in historical, socio-cultural and political realities—with a shared sense of religious identity. The following section (2) nuances this presentation of Islamic ritual as intrinsically a cohesive force, which necessarily relies heavily on canonical Sunni legal sources and authorities, by exploring five alternative strategies to ritual: Shi’i, esoteric, folk, rationalist, and reformist. Thereafter, it briefly discusses the potential of Islamic ritual in a variety of sources and contexts to both reflect and generate social hierarchies (section 3). It concludes by reflecting on Western scholarly approaches to Islamic ritual and by suggesting future directions for its study (section 4).

Communication of advance care planning decisions: a retrospective cohort study of documents in general practice

Background Doctors, particularly general practitioners, play a significant role in assisting patients to create advance care plans. When medically indicated, these documents are important tools to promote congruence between end-of-life care and patient’s personal preferences. Despite this, little is known regarding the availability of these documents in hospitals. The aim of this study was to identify the proportion of people who died in hospital without an advance care plan and how many of these had advance care planning (ACP) documents in their general practice records.Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted of patient hospital records with manual linkage to general practice records. The large regional hospital in Victoria, Australia has a catchment population in excess of 300,000 people. The study sample was patients aged 75 years and over who died in the hospital between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2017. The hospital records of these patients were examined to identify those which did not have a system alert for ACP documents on the file. Alerted ACP documents were limited to those legislated in the state of Victoria: advance care plan, Enduring Power of Attorney (Medical Treatment) or Enduring Power of Guardianship. Where no ACP document system alert was found in the hospital record, the patient’s nominated general practice was consented to participate and the corresponding general practice record was examined. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics.Results Of the 406 patients who died in hospital, 76.1% (309) did not have a system alert for any ACP document. Of the 309 hospital records without a system alert, 144 (46.7%) corresponding general practice records were examined. Of these, 14.6% included at least one ACP document, including four advance care plans, that were not available in hospital.Conclusions Unless ACP documents are consistently communicated from general practice, patient’s preferences may be unknown during end-of-life care. It is important that both doctors and patients are supported to use connected electronic health records to ensure that documents are readily available to healthcare staff when they are required.

Communication of advance care planning decisions: a retrospective cohort study of documents in general practice

Background Doctors, particularly general practitioners, play a significant role in assisting patients to create advance care plans. These documents are important tools to ensure that the end-of-life care a patient receives is in alignment with their personal preferences. Despite this, little is known regarding the availability of these documents in hospitals. The aim of this study was to identify the proportion of people who died in hospital without an advance care plan and how many of these had advance care planning (ACP) documents in their general practice records. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted of patient hospital records in a large regional Australian hospital with a catchment population in excess of 300,000. The study sample was patients aged 75 years and over who died in the hospital between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2017. The hospital records of these patients were examined to identify those which did not have a system alert for ACP documents on the file. Alerted ACP documents were limited to those legislated in the state of Victoria: advance care plan, Enduring Power of Attorney (Medical Treatment) or Enduring Power of Guardianship. Where no ACP document system alert was found in the hospital record, the corresponding general practice file was examined. Data were tested for normality and analysed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the 406 patients who died in hospital, 76.1% (309) did not have a system alert for any ACP document. 144 corresponding general practice records of the 309 hospital files without a system alert were examined. Of these, 14.6% included at least one ACP document, and four patients had an advance care plan that was not available in hospital. Conclusions Unless ACP documents are consistently communicated from general practice, advance care plans may go unreferenced during end-of-life care. It is important that both doctors and patients are supported to use connected electronic health records to ensure that documents are readily available to healthcare staff when they are required.