Tidsskrift for den Norske lægeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny række, Jan 20, 1998
We conducted a survey for the purpose of obtaining information on training, theoretical orientati... more We conducted a survey for the purpose of obtaining information on training, theoretical orientation and practice among various categories of practitioners of acupuncture in Norway. Particular attention was paid to physicians, compared with other groups of practitioners. A questionnaire was sent to 161 persons who had attended Norwegian Medical Acupuncture Seminars (Norske legers akupunkturkurs) and to 274 persons found under "Acupuncture" in the Yellow Pages of the telephone directory. The response rate was 80%, questionnaires being returned by 298 practitioners. A significantly higher percentage of physicians, as opposed to other practitioners, had less than 120 hours of acupuncture training. 30% of the physicians, compared to 60% in other groups, had more than 10 acupuncture consultations a week. Physicians performed only a relatively small number of different acupuncture methods. There was a relatively high number of men among the acupuncturists. Hence, acupuncture seem...
The comprehensive governmental approach to interpreting in the public sector in Norway includes i... more The comprehensive governmental approach to interpreting in the public sector in Norway includes interpreter accreditation, interpreter training, and the Norwegian National Register of Interpreters. In this article, we argue that training public service employees in how to communicate via interpreters should also be a crucial element to ensure quality interpreting and thus equal access to services for everyone. We analyze the training options in Norway, not as an isolated phenomenon, but in the context of the actors, relations, and systems that constitute interpreting in the public sector. The analysis consists of two main parts: 1) mapping the field of interpreting in the Norwegian public sector based on Ozolins’s (2000; 2010) model of governmental responses and the role of interpreter-user training and 2) examining the underlying dynamics of the current state, focusing on the role of the market and the connections between training interpreter-users and attitudes toward interpreting...
With the current health policy of evidence-based medicine, efforts to introduce new therapies in ... more With the current health policy of evidence-based medicine, efforts to introduce new therapies in public health care are inevitably linked to the necessity of providing evidence for the therapies' efficacy. By focusing on differences between patients' viewpoints as to what counts as the effects of acupuncture and the outcomes measured by physicians in a study, I discuss the contested reality of effects in the context of an initiative aimed at the integration of acupuncture in a public hospital in Norway. In the analysis, I draw on ethnographic data from fieldwork at an acupuncture clinic where patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were offered acupuncture as part of a pilot clinical study, which was the first step in an integration attempt. Applying Pierre Bourdieu's concept of symbolic power, I discuss the power dimensions implicit in the evaluation of medical therapies and integration processes. To conclude, I suggest that for actors interested in the integration of a...
This article discusses the reception of Chinese qigong in a Western context by focusing on the le... more This article discusses the reception of Chinese qigong in a Western context by focusing on the learning and experiencing of qigong in Norway. Drawing on ethnographic material from fieldwork among participants of a style of qigong referred to as Biyun medical qigong, I in particular explore the variety of body–mind states that Norwegian qigong students experience. I have differentiated five “stages” of Biyun practice. Using these stages as a framework, I demonstrate the gradual progression in the learning of qigong. “Body, ” “concentration, ” and qi (“life energy”) are all important constitutive dimensions in the practice, but as the learning progresses, qi becomes more and more prominent. Drawing on a definition of the body as “learning to be affected ” and “learning to affect ” (Despret, Body Soc 10:111–134, 2004; Latour, Body Soc 10:205–229, 2004), I suggest that qigong may be perceived as a practice that, at its core, involves learning to be affected by qi as well as to affect qi.
Abstract: The comprehensive governmental approach to interpreting in the public sector in Norway ... more Abstract: The comprehensive governmental approach to interpreting in the public sector in Norway includes interpreter accreditation, interpreter training, and the Norwegian National Register of Interpreters. In this article, we argue that training public service employees in how to communicate via interpreters should also be a crucial element to ensure quality interpreting and thus equal access to services for everyone. We analyze the training options in Norway, not as an isolated phenomenon, but in the context of the actors, relations, and systems that constitute interpreting in the public sector. The analysis consists of two main parts: 1) mapping the field of interpreting in the Norwegian public sector based on Ozolins’s (2000; 2010) model of governmental responses and the role of interpreter-user training and 2) examining the underlying dynamics of the current state, focusing on the role of the market and the connections between training interpreter-users and attitudes toward in...
This article discusses a style of medical qigong, called “Biyun qigong” 碧雲氣功 (Azure blue clouds q... more This article discusses a style of medical qigong, called “Biyun qigong” 碧雲氣功 (Azure blue clouds qigong), that has become popular in Norway and Scandinavia. The gathering of health-enhancing “life force” (qi) from the environment is a notion at the core of Biyun practice. This notion of qi is, however, largely unknown to most people in Norway. Against this background, the article seeks to explore certain aspects of the recontextualization of Biyun into a Western cultural context. The examination highlights that the establishment of Biyun qigong in Norway takes place in a context where outdoor activities (in Norway commonly referred to as friluftsliv, which literally translates as “free-air-life”) are highly valued and very common in everyday life. Drawing on my ethnographic data from fieldwork among participants of Biyun, the article argues that experiences and perceptions of nature derived from friluftsliv contribute to the shaping of Biyun practice in Norway.
The People's Republic of China is home to over 20 million d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, ... more The People's Republic of China is home to over 20 million d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, many among them belonging to ethnic minorities. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in two minority regions, the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, this article comparatively discusses findings on sign language use, education and state welfare policies. The situation in these domains is analysed through the framework of the 'civilising project', coined by Harrell, and its impacts on the d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing among ethnic minorities are shown. For instance, through the promotion of Chinese and Chinese Sign Language over and above the use of local sign and written languages as well as through education and the medicalisation of disabilities.
This article discusses what in international literature has commonly been termed the ‘vicious cir... more This article discusses what in international literature has commonly been termed the ‘vicious circle’ of poverty and disability. Our aim is to shed light on recent policies that attempt to break the vicious circle in rural areas in the People’s Republic of China. Drawing on data produced from fieldwork conducted in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China,
Acupuncture and other forms of so-called alternative treatments, originating outside the West, ha... more Acupuncture and other forms of so-called alternative treatments, originating outside the West, have increasingly become an integrated part of the repertoire of medical practices widely used in health care remote from their places of origin. The main aim of this paper is to elucidate the cultural translation of Chinese medical concepts in a Western, acupuncture setting located far from China. Drawing on material from ethnographic fieldwork in acupuncture schools in Norway, this study discusses how concepts used in Chinese acupuncture are taught and interpreted for biomedically oriented students. The paper concentrates on the concept of jingluo ('circulation tracts', 'meridians') which the schools considered to be vital in order to conduct acupuncture. Similar to several other Chinese medical concepts, jingluo presents claims about the body that significantly differ from biomedical assumptions. The paper adds novel resources and insights to the research concerning medical conceptions, in that it applies the perspective of 'finitism' as developed in the field of sociology of knowledge by Barnes, Bloor and Henry (1996) in its analysis. It presents an analysis of five empirical examples demonstrating how a variety of interpretations of jingluo--many of them from different fields and some of them contradictory--were involved in establishing jingluo. Finally, by examining examples of Chinese concepts of the body, the paper seeks to contribute to the wider field of the anthropology of the body as well as to add to our understanding of the ways in which medical pluralism and globalisation of acupuncture unfolds.
Tidsskrift for den Norske lægeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny række, Jan 20, 1998
We conducted a survey for the purpose of obtaining information on training, theoretical orientati... more We conducted a survey for the purpose of obtaining information on training, theoretical orientation and practice among various categories of practitioners of acupuncture in Norway. Particular attention was paid to physicians, compared with other groups of practitioners. A questionnaire was sent to 161 persons who had attended Norwegian Medical Acupuncture Seminars (Norske legers akupunkturkurs) and to 274 persons found under "Acupuncture" in the Yellow Pages of the telephone directory. The response rate was 80%, questionnaires being returned by 298 practitioners. A significantly higher percentage of physicians, as opposed to other practitioners, had less than 120 hours of acupuncture training. 30% of the physicians, compared to 60% in other groups, had more than 10 acupuncture consultations a week. Physicians performed only a relatively small number of different acupuncture methods. There was a relatively high number of men among the acupuncturists. Hence, acupuncture seem...
The comprehensive governmental approach to interpreting in the public sector in Norway includes i... more The comprehensive governmental approach to interpreting in the public sector in Norway includes interpreter accreditation, interpreter training, and the Norwegian National Register of Interpreters. In this article, we argue that training public service employees in how to communicate via interpreters should also be a crucial element to ensure quality interpreting and thus equal access to services for everyone. We analyze the training options in Norway, not as an isolated phenomenon, but in the context of the actors, relations, and systems that constitute interpreting in the public sector. The analysis consists of two main parts: 1) mapping the field of interpreting in the Norwegian public sector based on Ozolins’s (2000; 2010) model of governmental responses and the role of interpreter-user training and 2) examining the underlying dynamics of the current state, focusing on the role of the market and the connections between training interpreter-users and attitudes toward interpreting...
With the current health policy of evidence-based medicine, efforts to introduce new therapies in ... more With the current health policy of evidence-based medicine, efforts to introduce new therapies in public health care are inevitably linked to the necessity of providing evidence for the therapies' efficacy. By focusing on differences between patients' viewpoints as to what counts as the effects of acupuncture and the outcomes measured by physicians in a study, I discuss the contested reality of effects in the context of an initiative aimed at the integration of acupuncture in a public hospital in Norway. In the analysis, I draw on ethnographic data from fieldwork at an acupuncture clinic where patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were offered acupuncture as part of a pilot clinical study, which was the first step in an integration attempt. Applying Pierre Bourdieu's concept of symbolic power, I discuss the power dimensions implicit in the evaluation of medical therapies and integration processes. To conclude, I suggest that for actors interested in the integration of a...
This article discusses the reception of Chinese qigong in a Western context by focusing on the le... more This article discusses the reception of Chinese qigong in a Western context by focusing on the learning and experiencing of qigong in Norway. Drawing on ethnographic material from fieldwork among participants of a style of qigong referred to as Biyun medical qigong, I in particular explore the variety of body–mind states that Norwegian qigong students experience. I have differentiated five “stages” of Biyun practice. Using these stages as a framework, I demonstrate the gradual progression in the learning of qigong. “Body, ” “concentration, ” and qi (“life energy”) are all important constitutive dimensions in the practice, but as the learning progresses, qi becomes more and more prominent. Drawing on a definition of the body as “learning to be affected ” and “learning to affect ” (Despret, Body Soc 10:111–134, 2004; Latour, Body Soc 10:205–229, 2004), I suggest that qigong may be perceived as a practice that, at its core, involves learning to be affected by qi as well as to affect qi.
Abstract: The comprehensive governmental approach to interpreting in the public sector in Norway ... more Abstract: The comprehensive governmental approach to interpreting in the public sector in Norway includes interpreter accreditation, interpreter training, and the Norwegian National Register of Interpreters. In this article, we argue that training public service employees in how to communicate via interpreters should also be a crucial element to ensure quality interpreting and thus equal access to services for everyone. We analyze the training options in Norway, not as an isolated phenomenon, but in the context of the actors, relations, and systems that constitute interpreting in the public sector. The analysis consists of two main parts: 1) mapping the field of interpreting in the Norwegian public sector based on Ozolins’s (2000; 2010) model of governmental responses and the role of interpreter-user training and 2) examining the underlying dynamics of the current state, focusing on the role of the market and the connections between training interpreter-users and attitudes toward in...
This article discusses a style of medical qigong, called “Biyun qigong” 碧雲氣功 (Azure blue clouds q... more This article discusses a style of medical qigong, called “Biyun qigong” 碧雲氣功 (Azure blue clouds qigong), that has become popular in Norway and Scandinavia. The gathering of health-enhancing “life force” (qi) from the environment is a notion at the core of Biyun practice. This notion of qi is, however, largely unknown to most people in Norway. Against this background, the article seeks to explore certain aspects of the recontextualization of Biyun into a Western cultural context. The examination highlights that the establishment of Biyun qigong in Norway takes place in a context where outdoor activities (in Norway commonly referred to as friluftsliv, which literally translates as “free-air-life”) are highly valued and very common in everyday life. Drawing on my ethnographic data from fieldwork among participants of Biyun, the article argues that experiences and perceptions of nature derived from friluftsliv contribute to the shaping of Biyun practice in Norway.
The People's Republic of China is home to over 20 million d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, ... more The People's Republic of China is home to over 20 million d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, many among them belonging to ethnic minorities. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in two minority regions, the Tibet Autonomous Region and the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, this article comparatively discusses findings on sign language use, education and state welfare policies. The situation in these domains is analysed through the framework of the 'civilising project', coined by Harrell, and its impacts on the d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing among ethnic minorities are shown. For instance, through the promotion of Chinese and Chinese Sign Language over and above the use of local sign and written languages as well as through education and the medicalisation of disabilities.
This article discusses what in international literature has commonly been termed the ‘vicious cir... more This article discusses what in international literature has commonly been termed the ‘vicious circle’ of poverty and disability. Our aim is to shed light on recent policies that attempt to break the vicious circle in rural areas in the People’s Republic of China. Drawing on data produced from fieldwork conducted in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, People’s Republic of China,
Acupuncture and other forms of so-called alternative treatments, originating outside the West, ha... more Acupuncture and other forms of so-called alternative treatments, originating outside the West, have increasingly become an integrated part of the repertoire of medical practices widely used in health care remote from their places of origin. The main aim of this paper is to elucidate the cultural translation of Chinese medical concepts in a Western, acupuncture setting located far from China. Drawing on material from ethnographic fieldwork in acupuncture schools in Norway, this study discusses how concepts used in Chinese acupuncture are taught and interpreted for biomedically oriented students. The paper concentrates on the concept of jingluo ('circulation tracts', 'meridians') which the schools considered to be vital in order to conduct acupuncture. Similar to several other Chinese medical concepts, jingluo presents claims about the body that significantly differ from biomedical assumptions. The paper adds novel resources and insights to the research concerning medical conceptions, in that it applies the perspective of 'finitism' as developed in the field of sociology of knowledge by Barnes, Bloor and Henry (1996) in its analysis. It presents an analysis of five empirical examples demonstrating how a variety of interpretations of jingluo--many of them from different fields and some of them contradictory--were involved in establishing jingluo. Finally, by examining examples of Chinese concepts of the body, the paper seeks to contribute to the wider field of the anthropology of the body as well as to add to our understanding of the ways in which medical pluralism and globalisation of acupuncture unfolds.
Uploads
Papers by Gry Sagli