Anthro roundup: Video games as applied anthropology/ Hidden treasures in open anthropology repositories…

Video games as applied anthropology

Pursuing its ambitious development, the ICCI blog has decided now to open a “video games” section. And today, we are discussing the release of Civilization V, the last sequel of one of the most famous series in the history of video games.

New overview: Discover hidden treasures in open anthropology repositories

Inspired by the relaunch of the anthropology repository Mana?o, I have finally finished a first overview over anthropology repositories and archives here http://www.antropologi.info/links/Main/Archives

The overview is far from complete and if you know of some more I should know, leave a comment or sent an email. Not all the repositories are user-friendly and it wasn?t always easy to find anthropology theses and papers, especially in the U.S.

How to decide what panels to see at AAAs

1. Steal an AAA program.

2. Find page which begins each day?s listings and fold it in half in the program. Now you can easily locate each day.

3.Go through each day?s listings and turn down the corner every time the start time of the sessions change ? when the listing of all the 2 pm sessions begins, for instance, then turn that page down. Now each day is broken up into discrete time slots.

A Brief Anthropology of Conferencing

We welcome a guest blog from Diana Patterson (U Chicago).

This first day of the 2010 American Anthropological Association meeting in New Orleans is also my first academic conference; naturally I began mulling over the anthropology of conferences as soon as I put that ubiquitous AAA lanyard and nametag around my neck. Whether it has been years since your first academic conference, or whether you have not made that pilgrimage yet, it is worth considering how this year?s theme of ?Circulation? is a fitting metaphor for the academic conference experience.

The Anthropology of ‘Follow Friday’
The AtlanticWire (blog)
That’s why anthropologist Krystal D’Costa, whose blog “Anthropology in Practice” is dedicated to exploring and explaining her field for the general public,

The Anthropology of ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops’ Fandom
The Good Men Project
But even a video game novice has to be taken aback by these clips?in a sort of anthropological way, right? Seriously, the technical depth and human passion

Anthropology Awards Santa Barbara Edhat Sixty-eight undergraduate students at UC Santa Barbara have been named Public Anthropology Award winners by the Center for a Public Anthropology.

Embedded Anthropology in Australia: The Debate Continues

Editorial note: In Encircling Empire Report #3, I featured an article from an exciting Australian magazine, Arena, along with extended extracts, authored by Barry Morris and Andrew Lattas. That article was ?Embedded Anthropology and the Intervention.? Since then I was contacted by one of the central figures criticized in their article, anthropologist Francesca Merlan, inquiring as to whether or not I would be willing to post her response to their strong criticisms?I agreed. I was also contacted by Andrew Lattas about whether I would post any reply to Merlan?s response?and I also agreed.

Grilling culture: an interview with Steve Raichlen

Steve Raichlen, author of Planet Barbecue!, BBQ USA, and The Barbecue Bible.

Guest post by Graham Hough-Cornwell

Are there any debates more heated than two barbecue enthusiasts hailing from different corners of the country going at it over whose style of ?cue is better? From the vinegar tang of pulled pork in the Carolinas to the dry rubs of Memphis ribs to the earthy mutton of Kentucky to the sweet beef brisket of Texas, few foods are the subject of such enthusiasm and regionalism. But why stop there?

Call for Research: Ethnography, Psychosis and At-Risk Groups

An article this week in Nature highlights new issues surrounding the intersections of psychosis, clinical risk, and adolescence. Psychosis is now thought to lie along a ?continuum? in the population from ?at-risk? groups who have ?psychotic-like experiences? (PLEs) (e.g., hallucinations and delusions that are transient or do not disrupt social functioning) (Meehl 1962; Polanczyk, Moffitt et al. 2010) to people who experience a full-blown ?first-episode psychosis? (FEP) who may then go on to develop multiple-episode ?psychotic disorders? like schizophrenia (Kelleher and Cannon 2010). Recent estimates find that 5-8% of the general population experience PLEs or ?subclinical? psychotic symptoms and may be at-risk for FEP (Yung and McGorry 1996; Norman, Scholten et al. 2005; Van Os, Linscott et al. 2009), but this does not mean that all people with PLEs will develop FEP or schizophrenia. In fact, a recent study of an ?ultra high-risk? group with PLEs and cognitive deficits over 18 months had only 19% of participants transition to psychosis (Ruhrmann, Schultze-Lutter et al. 2010).