Penn Handwerker - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Penn Handwerker
Human Organization, 2010
This study tests hypotheses about the origins of bad teeth and good teeth. In the process, we sho... more This study tests hypotheses about the origins of bad teeth and good teeth. In the process, we show how cultures exert "causal force" and produce what, following the lead of the dental professionals and dental patients who served as our research participants, we call "bad teeth." We conducted a mixed method ethnography that integrated narratives from one set of diverse research participants (n=39) with structured interviews from a different set of diverse participants (n=288). The population studied shares a single cultural understanding organized around the assumption that oral health constitutes a cosmetic not a disease category. quality of life standards, however, varied with work cultures and oral health prevention behaviors reflected cultural norms that bear on appearance. This variation produces the apparent paradox that the use of oral health services increases with access but may decrease with objective need. Improved oral health may require social marketing that stresses both the socially enhancing objective of healthy teeth and gums and that bad teeth add significantly to the risk of heart disease.
Journal of Women's Health, 1993
Objectives: To assess intergenerational linkages between gender power differences, family violenc... more Objectives: To assess intergenerational linkages between gender power differences, family violence, sexuality, and high-risk sexual behavior. Design: A national survey of Barbados, West Indies, carried out in 1990, coupled with data collected by participant-observation during 28 months of field research. Participants: Numerical analyses based on data from 407 heterosexual men and women aged 20\p=n-\45 selected randomly from all socioeconomic strata of the national population of Barbados. Main Outcome Measures: Sexual precociousness measured as the number of years of sexual activity prior to age 20, sexual mobility prior to age 20 and during three succeeding 5-year age periods (20\p=n-\24, 25\p=n-\29, and 30\p=n-\34), and a history of sexually transmitted disease (STD). Results: Historical constraints on job opportunities established gender power differentials that subjected Barbadian women and their children to high levels of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Children who grew up in these exploitative environments started sexual activity early and, in adolescence, established a pattern of high sexual mobility which continued through their early 30s. Their activities created a self-perception of \p=``\promiscuity,\p=' ' \ a view of sexuality that declares some positions and activities as respectable and some not, men who demand specialized sexual services and women who choose to meet this demand, and men who don't use condoms and spread STDs. Conclusions: Gender power differentials may create a distinctive syndrome of social and health pathologies encompassing physical, emotional, and sexual abuse of women and children and, in the next generation, high-risk sexual behavior.
Liberian Studies Journal, 1976
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2009
... This study of oral health offers a solution to Gilbert's Paradox that contribute... more ... This study of oral health offers a solution to Gilbert's Paradox that contributes simultaneously to our understanding of cultures. ... bleeding gums, and cavities. Means of prevention include brushing teeth, flossing teeth, use of an antibiotic mouthwash, and regular dental visits. ...
Social Science & Medicine, 1992
Nearly all West Indian islands initiated marked fertility declines sometime between 1960 and 1970... more Nearly all West Indian islands initiated marked fertility declines sometime between 1960 and 1970. Family planning programs have not played an important role in these declines. Neither have other variables that conventional social theory tells us should promote reduced family sizes, like education and rising standards of living. The historical experience of Barbados and Antigua, which reached replacementlevel fertility in the 1980s suggests that West Indian fertility declines reflect structural changes in national economies that created job opportunities for women. Family planning programs need to he evaluated with reference to the distinctive health and human rights goals other than fertility transition that they can effectively reach.
Parenting, 2001
Objective. Research has suggested that parenting practices reflect cultural mean-ing systems. Rec... more Objective. Research has suggested that parenting practices reflect cultural mean-ing systems. Recent debate regarding the use of individualism and sociocentrism as broad constructs that describe parents' cultural meaning systems have centered on the adequacy of such ...
Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 2012
Reports suggest children with physical disability are at greater risk than peers for negative car... more Reports suggest children with physical disability are at greater risk than peers for negative caregiver interactions. The environmental, parental, and child characteristics associated with variation in caregiver practices among families of children with (n=450) and without physical disability (n=450) in a nationally representative sample from the U.S. Agreement and variation about the shared meaning of "caregiver practices" were measured using consensus analysis. Associated parent, child, and family characteristics were identified using regression analysis. Parents did not spank, hit back, yell, ignore, put to work, or make fun of their children as a punishment. Parents maintained rules set about eating, bedtime, chores, and watching television. They reported playing with children, preparing food for them, going to religious services, reading, singing songs, and telling stories with their children. They reported not being involved in organized exercise and art classes. Child's socio-emotional skills and behaviors (β=−.331), socioeconomic status (β=−.223), the influence of religion on raising child (β=−.180), race/ethnicity of the parent (β=−.071), and physical disability (β=−.104) explained 24 % of the variance in caregiver practices (F= 32.34, p<.000). More negative caregiver practices are associated with families of children with lower levels of socio-emotional skills and behaviors, lower socioeconomic status, less religious influence on child rearing practices, who are not Euro-American, or whose children have physical disability. Children's socioemotional skills and behaviors explained the largest amount of variance in caregiver practices, not disability status. Health professionals working with children with
Health Education Research, 2007
Cervical cancer is often the most common cancer among women in developing countries, yet current ... more Cervical cancer is often the most common cancer among women in developing countries, yet current screening efforts have not been effective in reducing incidence and mortality rates in these settings. In an effort to increase knowledge about screening participation in low-resource settings, this study sought to identify key factors affecting women's participation in a cervical screening program in north central Peru. We studied women who were exposed to various health promotion educational activities and compared a total of 156 women who sought screening between July 2001 and October 2003 with 155 women who did not. Results from logistic regression identified four significant predictors of screening: higher relative wealth, knowing other screened women, seeking care from a health facility when sick and satisfaction with services at the health facility. When we restricted our analysis to women who had experienced screening in the past, two additional predictors emerged: having a husband who was supportive of screening participation and attending an awareness-raising session. These results have important programmatic value for tailoring outreach efforts for women and indicate that different strategies may be required to best reach women who have never been screened.
Field Methods, 1991
assume sampling variability around a parameter. Thus, there is little (usually, no) appreciation ... more assume sampling variability around a parameter. Thus, there is little (usually, no) appreciation that a-error levels tell you how oftenyouwill make the wrong decision if you reject the null hypothesis. Wishful thinking substitutes for reasoni ng, as when coeff icients that could easily be obtained by chance are interpreted as evidence supporting an hypothesis because they show the &dquo;right&dquo; sign or direction; orwhen an exploratory study tests
Page 1. SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN AFRICA by W. Penn Handwerker with General Biblio... more Page 1. SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN AFRICA by W. Penn Handwerker with General Bibliography and Selected Annotations compiled by Marion Pratt Prepared for the United States Agency for International ...
Current Anthropology, 1987
... First, we see the fundamental demographic events of birth, marriage, migration, and death as ... more ... First, we see the fundamental demographic events of birth, marriage, migration, and death as im-bued ... to the reduction of growth or, alternatively, increase the proba-bility of cultural change in rules ... fission is that daughter soci-eties will not be perfect copies of the parent society. ...
Current Anthropology, 1997
American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 1990
is only marginally useful since the paper titles are so informative. Except for specific topics (... more is only marginally useful since the paper titles are so informative. Except for specific topics (e.g., mammalian lifespan scaling factors or laboratory rodent dietary restriction effects on longevity), this volume will not be frequently consulted by physical anthropologists. The institutional rather than personal library is its predicted (and recommended) niche.
American Journal of Human Biology, 2001
Previous studies use zero-order analyses to show a link between child abuse and exposure to "step... more Previous studies use zero-order analyses to show a link between child abuse and exposure to "stepfathers." These studies rest on a proposed evolved, domain-specific cognitive mechanism that induces adult males to abuse or kill offspring not their own and, so, contribute directly to reproductive success. However, child abuse may reflect an evolved neurological mechanism that creates behavioral plasticity and adaptability by assigning emotional weights (which in consciousness appear rationalized as costs and benefits) to choice alternatives in all behavioral domains. This mechanism should act as a selective mechanism to create enhanced ability to avoid predation (social exploitation) and to obtain access to resources, given the properties of specific ecosystems, and should control behavioral responses to variation in the balance of power in social relationships. Power equalities should elicit good treatment for both parties; power inequalities, by contrast, should elicit exploitative and coercive behavior on the part of those who hold the balance of power. This paper reports a test of both hypotheses simultaneously, controlling for a standard social science risk factor (growing up in poverty). Once we control for the balance of power in parental relationships, exposure to a stepfather and growing up in poverty show no effect on the intensity of child abuse. Powerful women negotiated affectionate behavior from their partners for both themselves and their children; powerless women's negotiations with partners usually left both themselves and their children open to violence.
Human Organization, 2010
This study tests hypotheses about the origins of bad teeth and good teeth. In the process, we sho... more This study tests hypotheses about the origins of bad teeth and good teeth. In the process, we show how cultures exert "causal force" and produce what, following the lead of the dental professionals and dental patients who served as our research participants, we call "bad teeth." We conducted a mixed method ethnography that integrated narratives from one set of diverse research participants (n=39) with structured interviews from a different set of diverse participants (n=288). The population studied shares a single cultural understanding organized around the assumption that oral health constitutes a cosmetic not a disease category. quality of life standards, however, varied with work cultures and oral health prevention behaviors reflected cultural norms that bear on appearance. This variation produces the apparent paradox that the use of oral health services increases with access but may decrease with objective need. Improved oral health may require social marketing that stresses both the socially enhancing objective of healthy teeth and gums and that bad teeth add significantly to the risk of heart disease.
Journal of Women's Health, 1993
Objectives: To assess intergenerational linkages between gender power differences, family violenc... more Objectives: To assess intergenerational linkages between gender power differences, family violence, sexuality, and high-risk sexual behavior. Design: A national survey of Barbados, West Indies, carried out in 1990, coupled with data collected by participant-observation during 28 months of field research. Participants: Numerical analyses based on data from 407 heterosexual men and women aged 20\p=n-\45 selected randomly from all socioeconomic strata of the national population of Barbados. Main Outcome Measures: Sexual precociousness measured as the number of years of sexual activity prior to age 20, sexual mobility prior to age 20 and during three succeeding 5-year age periods (20\p=n-\24, 25\p=n-\29, and 30\p=n-\34), and a history of sexually transmitted disease (STD). Results: Historical constraints on job opportunities established gender power differentials that subjected Barbadian women and their children to high levels of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Children who grew up in these exploitative environments started sexual activity early and, in adolescence, established a pattern of high sexual mobility which continued through their early 30s. Their activities created a self-perception of \p=``\promiscuity,\p=' ' \ a view of sexuality that declares some positions and activities as respectable and some not, men who demand specialized sexual services and women who choose to meet this demand, and men who don't use condoms and spread STDs. Conclusions: Gender power differentials may create a distinctive syndrome of social and health pathologies encompassing physical, emotional, and sexual abuse of women and children and, in the next generation, high-risk sexual behavior.
Liberian Studies Journal, 1976
SSRN Electronic Journal, 2009
... This study of oral health offers a solution to Gilbert&#x27;s Paradox that contribute... more ... This study of oral health offers a solution to Gilbert&#x27;s Paradox that contributes simultaneously to our understanding of cultures. ... bleeding gums, and cavities. Means of prevention include brushing teeth, flossing teeth, use of an antibiotic mouthwash, and regular dental visits. ...
Social Science & Medicine, 1992
Nearly all West Indian islands initiated marked fertility declines sometime between 1960 and 1970... more Nearly all West Indian islands initiated marked fertility declines sometime between 1960 and 1970. Family planning programs have not played an important role in these declines. Neither have other variables that conventional social theory tells us should promote reduced family sizes, like education and rising standards of living. The historical experience of Barbados and Antigua, which reached replacementlevel fertility in the 1980s suggests that West Indian fertility declines reflect structural changes in national economies that created job opportunities for women. Family planning programs need to he evaluated with reference to the distinctive health and human rights goals other than fertility transition that they can effectively reach.
Parenting, 2001
Objective. Research has suggested that parenting practices reflect cultural mean-ing systems. Rec... more Objective. Research has suggested that parenting practices reflect cultural mean-ing systems. Recent debate regarding the use of individualism and sociocentrism as broad constructs that describe parents' cultural meaning systems have centered on the adequacy of such ...
Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 2012
Reports suggest children with physical disability are at greater risk than peers for negative car... more Reports suggest children with physical disability are at greater risk than peers for negative caregiver interactions. The environmental, parental, and child characteristics associated with variation in caregiver practices among families of children with (n=450) and without physical disability (n=450) in a nationally representative sample from the U.S. Agreement and variation about the shared meaning of "caregiver practices" were measured using consensus analysis. Associated parent, child, and family characteristics were identified using regression analysis. Parents did not spank, hit back, yell, ignore, put to work, or make fun of their children as a punishment. Parents maintained rules set about eating, bedtime, chores, and watching television. They reported playing with children, preparing food for them, going to religious services, reading, singing songs, and telling stories with their children. They reported not being involved in organized exercise and art classes. Child's socio-emotional skills and behaviors (β=−.331), socioeconomic status (β=−.223), the influence of religion on raising child (β=−.180), race/ethnicity of the parent (β=−.071), and physical disability (β=−.104) explained 24 % of the variance in caregiver practices (F= 32.34, p<.000). More negative caregiver practices are associated with families of children with lower levels of socio-emotional skills and behaviors, lower socioeconomic status, less religious influence on child rearing practices, who are not Euro-American, or whose children have physical disability. Children's socioemotional skills and behaviors explained the largest amount of variance in caregiver practices, not disability status. Health professionals working with children with
Health Education Research, 2007
Cervical cancer is often the most common cancer among women in developing countries, yet current ... more Cervical cancer is often the most common cancer among women in developing countries, yet current screening efforts have not been effective in reducing incidence and mortality rates in these settings. In an effort to increase knowledge about screening participation in low-resource settings, this study sought to identify key factors affecting women's participation in a cervical screening program in north central Peru. We studied women who were exposed to various health promotion educational activities and compared a total of 156 women who sought screening between July 2001 and October 2003 with 155 women who did not. Results from logistic regression identified four significant predictors of screening: higher relative wealth, knowing other screened women, seeking care from a health facility when sick and satisfaction with services at the health facility. When we restricted our analysis to women who had experienced screening in the past, two additional predictors emerged: having a husband who was supportive of screening participation and attending an awareness-raising session. These results have important programmatic value for tailoring outreach efforts for women and indicate that different strategies may be required to best reach women who have never been screened.
Field Methods, 1991
assume sampling variability around a parameter. Thus, there is little (usually, no) appreciation ... more assume sampling variability around a parameter. Thus, there is little (usually, no) appreciation that a-error levels tell you how oftenyouwill make the wrong decision if you reject the null hypothesis. Wishful thinking substitutes for reasoni ng, as when coeff icients that could easily be obtained by chance are interpreted as evidence supporting an hypothesis because they show the &dquo;right&dquo; sign or direction; orwhen an exploratory study tests
Page 1. SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN AFRICA by W. Penn Handwerker with General Biblio... more Page 1. SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN AFRICA by W. Penn Handwerker with General Bibliography and Selected Annotations compiled by Marion Pratt Prepared for the United States Agency for International ...
Current Anthropology, 1987
... First, we see the fundamental demographic events of birth, marriage, migration, and death as ... more ... First, we see the fundamental demographic events of birth, marriage, migration, and death as im-bued ... to the reduction of growth or, alternatively, increase the proba-bility of cultural change in rules ... fission is that daughter soci-eties will not be perfect copies of the parent society. ...
Current Anthropology, 1997
American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 1990
is only marginally useful since the paper titles are so informative. Except for specific topics (... more is only marginally useful since the paper titles are so informative. Except for specific topics (e.g., mammalian lifespan scaling factors or laboratory rodent dietary restriction effects on longevity), this volume will not be frequently consulted by physical anthropologists. The institutional rather than personal library is its predicted (and recommended) niche.
American Journal of Human Biology, 2001
Previous studies use zero-order analyses to show a link between child abuse and exposure to "step... more Previous studies use zero-order analyses to show a link between child abuse and exposure to "stepfathers." These studies rest on a proposed evolved, domain-specific cognitive mechanism that induces adult males to abuse or kill offspring not their own and, so, contribute directly to reproductive success. However, child abuse may reflect an evolved neurological mechanism that creates behavioral plasticity and adaptability by assigning emotional weights (which in consciousness appear rationalized as costs and benefits) to choice alternatives in all behavioral domains. This mechanism should act as a selective mechanism to create enhanced ability to avoid predation (social exploitation) and to obtain access to resources, given the properties of specific ecosystems, and should control behavioral responses to variation in the balance of power in social relationships. Power equalities should elicit good treatment for both parties; power inequalities, by contrast, should elicit exploitative and coercive behavior on the part of those who hold the balance of power. This paper reports a test of both hypotheses simultaneously, controlling for a standard social science risk factor (growing up in poverty). Once we control for the balance of power in parental relationships, exposure to a stepfather and growing up in poverty show no effect on the intensity of child abuse. Powerful women negotiated affectionate behavior from their partners for both themselves and their children; powerless women's negotiations with partners usually left both themselves and their children open to violence.