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The Social Epistemology of Anthropology: Insights from Judgment Aggregation
Anthropological writings have, at times, been vague in the approach used to gather evidence of cultural and social beliefs of the peoples studied, and the method of representing the data to the reading public. This paper employs the theory of judgment aggregation in critiquing anthropological theory and practice. It will be structured in three parts: first, I will present the theory of judgment aggregation as constructed by Christian List and Philip Pettit; second, I will sketch some epistemological methods used by anthropologists, and assess their attitude toward the notions of judgment aggregation and group agency; and finally, I will apply List and Pettit’s arguments about effective group organization to anthropological practice of representing its studied peoples’ beliefs and judgments by proposing three possible changes in method that will allow for more accurate and faithful interpretations and descriptions
Mobility Clinic Team Composition: Optimizing Care for Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury
INTRODUCTION Specialized interprofessional primary care-based Mobility Clinics represent a significant opportunity to improve spinal cord injury (SCI) care, however, there are no gold standards to inform team composition. This study explored the ideal mix of skill sets and competencies for Mobility Clinics.
METHODS Twelve individual interviews were conducted with primary care and rehabilitation clinicians and individuals from professional associations representing nurses, nurse practitioners, social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, physicians, physician assistants, and recreation therapists. Participants received briefing notes on the Mobility Clinic care model and roles of each discipline within this model. Questions were asked related to discipline specific scope of practice, ideal team composition to meet consumer needs, and opportunities for expanding and sharing discipline roles.
RESULTS Discipline specific role descriptions within the Mobility Clinic were perceived to be comprehensive and accurate; in some cases additional activities were suggested for some disciplines. Suggestions were made for cross discipline sharing of tasks (e.g., some social worker activities can be assumed by occupational therapists (OT) or nurse practitioners (NPs). Recommendations for core team members included a physician, nurse, OT, exercise therapist and a representative from a SCI-specific community service, with linkages to specialists or interprofessional rehabilitation teams for consultation support. Potential roles were described for disciplines not currently represented in this care model (nurse practitioners, physiotherapists, physician assistants, recreation therapists)
Supplementing Traditional Documentation with Oral History: Capturing Institutional Knowledge at Oregon State University Libraries
Over the summer of 2017, I had the unique pleasure of documenting the workflow of a retiring serials technician who had been at Oregon State University’s (OSU) Valley Library in Corvallis for nearly 37 years. During her tenure, she took part in no fewer than seven online database system transitions and created a one-of-a-kind serials check-in workflow for each new system with her magic red binder. She once told me that, with that binder, she could navigate any new system because the basics of serials were always the same; it was just a matter of learning the new language and finding how those basics fit into the new system.
Now, as you can imagine, being in a job for over three decades leaves one with quite a bit of institutional knowledge. From my perspective, I knew that it would be easy to get the basics down onto paper. What concerned me was losing the historic memory and organizational culture of this long-term staff member—the kind of knowledge that collected files and documentation just don’t cover. It’s important for new employees to know why certain processes are followed, the history of the technical services department, and how things came to be in their current state. I’m not saying that libraries have to keep doing things the same way. But there is certainly something to be said about having a bit of narrative and contextual history when a fresh set of eyes looks at traditional practices and procedures