Books by Melania Calestani
""Globalisation has led to increasing cultural and religious diversity in cities around the world... more ""Globalisation has led to increasing cultural and religious diversity in cities around the world. What are the implications for young people growing up in these settings? How do they develop their religious identities, and what roles do families, friends and peers, teachers, religious leaders and wider cultural influences play in the process? Furthermore, how do members of similar and different cultural and faith backgrounds get on together, and what can young people tell us about reducing conflict and promoting social solidarity amid diversity?
Youth On Religion outlines the findings from a unique large-scale project investigating the meaning of religion to young people in three multi-faith locations. Drawing on survey data from over 10,000 young people with a range of faith positions, as well as a series of fascinating interviews, discussion groups and diary reports involving 160 adolescents, this book examines myriad aspects of their daily lives. It provides the most comprehensive account yet of the role of religion for young people growing up in contemporary, multicultural urban contexts.
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Papers by Melania Calestani
This volume invites the reader to join in with the recent focus on subjectivity and self-reflecti... more This volume invites the reader to join in with the recent focus on subjectivity and self-reflection, as the means of understanding and engaging with the social and historical changes in the world through storytelling. It examines the symbiosis between anthropology and fiction, on the one hand, by looking at various ways in which the two fields co-emerge in a fruitful manner, and, on the other, by re-examining their political, aesthetic, and social relevance to world history. Following the intellectual crisis of the 1970s, anthropology has been criticized for losing its ethnographic authority and vocation. However, as a consequence of this, ethnographic scope has opened towards more subjective and self-reflexive forms of knowledge and representations, such as the crossing of the boundaries between autobiography and ethnography. The collection of essays re-introduces the importance of authorship in relationship to readership, making a ground-breaking move towards the study of fictiona...
Latin American Perspectives
Background: Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are often proposed as ‘technologica... more Background: Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are often proposed as ‘technological fixes ’ for problems facing healthcare. They promise to deliver services more quickly and cheaply. Yet research on the implementation of ICTs reveals a litany of delays, compromises and failures. Case studies have established that these technologies are difficult to embed in everyday healthcare. Methods: We undertook an ethnographic comparative analysis of a single computer decision support system in three different settings to understand the implementation and everyday use of this technology which is designed to deal with calls to emergency and urgent care services. We examined the deployment of this technology in an established 999 ambulance call-handling service, a new single point of access for urgent care and an established general practice out-of-hours service. We used Normalization Process Theory as a framework to enable systematic cross-case analysis. Results: Our data comprise...
Safer Communities, 2022
Purpose This study aims to highlight an innovative project, across three European countries, name... more Purpose This study aims to highlight an innovative project, across three European countries, namely, Italy, Sweden and Romania, that used pictorial designs to empower young women to demand the right to live without sexual harassment. Design/methodology/approach figures in terms of race and gender of young people were produced on cards, which allowed the imagination of the viewer to interpret and discuss these images freely. Other cards had definitions and scenarios. The cards generated discussion and comments both with the young participants and educational professionals. Findings Using the cards produced a rich set of responses from the students. Not all recognised that what was happening between young men and women was sexual harassment. There was a need to develop the concept of empathy and personal responsibility for behaviour and etiquette between the sexes. The response from professionals also varied in terms of sympathy and understanding. Research limitations/implications The...
Anthropology Matters, Nov 23, 2009
Three narratives of anthropological engagement By Melania Calestani (Goldsmiths), Ioannis Kyriaka... more Three narratives of anthropological engagement By Melania Calestani (Goldsmiths), Ioannis Kyriakakis (UCL), and Nico Tassi (UCL) This article is an account of different experiences, reflections and impressions that have arisen when embarking on the process of doing anthropological research and writing a thesis. The common ground of these three narratives is that they refer to our personal engagement with anthropology, our experiences within the academic world, as well as to our restless endeavour to make sense of them. We are particularly concerned with the language, the methods, and what usually remains unsaid or is taken for granted with regard to the context of anthropological training, fieldwork and writing up. Our claim is that whereas we as anthropologists attentively take into account the context of our research, we have often failed to pay a similar kind of attention to ourselves and our academic context. We see this article as a contribution towards such study. The thesis is a ritual of initiation … a boring, rich collection and display of data … something that must show your knowledge of the principles of anthropology. Theses are intellectual exercises, they are not meant for reading, they will lay in the dust of Senate House library. Unlike books, theses should not be interesting, they must be plain and bulky, in fact they are the negative of books.
Health Policy, 2020
Background: Health workforce planners in many high-income countries are considering policy strate... more Background: Health workforce planners in many high-income countries are considering policy strategies to retain home and overseas-trained health professionals. There is a lack of evidence on how hospitals can successfully integrate and retain skilled overseas professionals in relevant work roles. This study aimed to explore the integration and retention experiences of skilled American physician assistants/associates working in English hospitals. Methods: A qualitative study using semi-structured telephone interviews was undertaken in spring 2017 and spring 2018. Data were coded and analysed using thematic analysis. The study was framed within a theoretical model of role development. Results: Nineteen physician assistants/associates participated in interviews at timepoint one, and seventeen at timepoint two, across seven English hospitals. Four themes were identified in the integration and retention processes experienced by participants: motivations and expectations, seeking role identity, acceptance and integration, and establishing a niche role. Supervising doctors appeared instrumental in creating opportunities through training and system adjustment that enabled development of niche roles; offering an effective match between participant skills and interests, and medical/surgical team or organisational needs. Whether or not they had a niche role influenced the decision of participants to remain or leave. Conclusion: Integration approaches that maximise the value of the skilled health professional to the medical/surgical team and support retention, including development of optimum roles, require time and resources.
Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2018
Ecosystem services frameworks effectively assume that nature's contributions to human well-being ... more Ecosystem services frameworks effectively assume that nature's contributions to human well-being derive from people receiving benefits from nature. At the same time, efforts (money, time, or energy) for conservation, restoration or stewardship are often considered costs to be minimized. But what if caring for nature is itself an essential component of human well-being? Taking up and developing the concept of relational values, we explore the idea that well-being cannot be reduced to the reception of benefits, and that instead much derives from positive agency including caring for nature. In this paper, we ask specifically, a) how can "care" be conceptualised with respect to nature, b) how does caring for nature matter both to protecting nature and to people's well-being, and c) what are the implications for research and practice? We describe the theoretical background, drawing especially from (eco)feminist philosophy, and explore its (mostly) implicit uses in the conservation literature. Based on this analysis we propose a preliminary framework of caring for nature and discuss its potential to enrich the spectrum of moral relations to/with nature. We explore both its consequences for environmental research and for the practice of conservation.
BMJ open, Jan 6, 2018
Despite policy intentions for more healthcare out of hospital, district nursing services face mul... more Despite policy intentions for more healthcare out of hospital, district nursing services face multiple funding and staffing challenges, which compromise the care delivered and policy objectives. What is the impact of the adapted Buurtzorg model on feasibility, acceptability and effective outcomes in an English district nursing service? Mixed methods case study. Primary care. Neighbourhood nursing team (Buurtzorg model), patients and carers, general practitioners (GPs), other health professionals, managers and conventional district nurses. The adapted Buurtzorg model of community nursing demonstrated feasibility and acceptability to patients, carers, GPs and other health professionals. For many patients, it was preferable to previous experiences of district nursing in terms of continuity in care, improved support of multiple long-term conditions (encompassing physical, mental and social factors) and proactive care. For the neighbourhood nurses, the ability to make operational and cli...
Transplantation direct, 2018
It is well recognized that there is significant variation between centers in access to kidney tra... more It is well recognized that there is significant variation between centers in access to kidney transplantation. In the absence of high-grade evidence, it is unclear whether variation is due to patient case mix, other center factors, or individual clinician decisions. This study sought consensus between UK clinicians on factors that should influence access to kidney transplantation. As part of the Access to Transplantation and Transplant Outcome Measures project, consultant nephrologists and transplant surgeons in 71 centers were invited to participate in a Delphi study involving 2 rounds. During rounds 1 and 2, participants rated their agreement to 29 statements covering 8 topics regarding kidney transplantation. A stakeholder meeting was used to discuss statements of interest after the 2 rounds. In total, 122 nephrologists and 16 transplant surgeons from 45 units participated in rounds 1 and 2. After 2 rounds, 12 of 29 statements reached consensus. Fifty people participated in the s...
Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 2015
British Journal of Religious Education, 2015
Ultimately, this book is a thought-provoking opener to the debate about how services work better ... more Ultimately, this book is a thought-provoking opener to the debate about how services work better with young men who have experienced domestic abuse (as victims, witnesses or perpetrators). This greater understanding also serves to break down the siloed work between these categories. It breaks new ground in the level of depth and context given about young men's thoughts and feelings on domestic abuse, which was missing in the literature before. I think there are valuable insights in this book which can inform practice and practitioners in the field will appreciate the ideas for resources positioned helpfully at the end of each chapter. However, I'm not convinced professionals will be able to translate the urge for relativistic understanding of masculinities into adapted front-line work from this book alone; in some ways, it poses more questions than it answers, igniting a useful debate.
The aim of this encyclopedia is to provide a comprehensive reference work on scientific and other... more The aim of this encyclopedia is to provide a comprehensive reference work on scientific and other scholarly research on the quality of life, including health-related quality of life research or also called patient-reported outcomes research Since the 1960s two over-lapping but fairly distinct research communities and traditions have developed concerning ideas about the quality of life, individually and collectively, one with a fairly narrow focus on health-related issues and one with a quite broad focus. In many ways, the central issues of these fields have roots extending to the observations and speculations of ancient philosophers, creating a continuous exploration by diverse explorers in diverse historic and cultural circumstances over several centuries of the qualities of human existence. What we have not had so far is a single, multidimensional reference work connecting the most salient and important contributions to the relevant fields. Entries will be organized alphabetically...
European Urban and Regional Studies, 2016
Europe has set out its plans to foster a ‘green economy’, focused around recycling, by 2020. This... more Europe has set out its plans to foster a ‘green economy’, focused around recycling, by 2020. This pan-European recycling economy, it is argued, will have the triple virtues of: first, stopping wastes being ‘dumped’ on poor countries; second, reusing them and thus decoupling economic prosperity from demands on global resources; and third, creating a wave of employment in recycling industries. European resource recovery is represented in academic and practitioner literatures as ‘clean and green’. Underpinned by a technical and physical materialism, it highlights the clean-up of Europe’s waste management and the high-tech character of resource recovery. Analysis shows this representation to mask the cultural and physical associations between recycling work and waste work, and thus to obscure that resource recovery is mostly ‘dirty’ work. Through an empirical analysis of three sectors of resource recovery (‘dry recyclables’, textiles and ships) in Northern member states, we show that re...
Latin American Perspectives, 2014
In recent decades there has been increasing interest in academic, governmental, and nongovernment... more In recent decades there has been increasing interest in academic, governmental, and nongovernmental circles worldwide in developing universal definitions of well-being. Governments have progressively shifted their policies on this concept and are currently engaged in improving the well-being of their populations. Bolivia’s concept of suma qamaña (living well together) is broader than “well-being,” emphasizing the importance of harmonious relations between nature and human beings and providing an important link to sustainability that current conceptions of well-being fail to make. Exploring the concept is highly relevant at this historical moment because the Morales government is engaged in a wide-ranging process of social transformation to implement it. Its translation into public policy and the adoption of a development model consistent with it have proved problematic. While the introduction of the concept into the National Development Plan, the new constitution, and the Law of Mot...
Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 2014
Background. There is variation in time to listing and rates of listing for transplantation betwee... more Background. There is variation in time to listing and rates of listing for transplantation between renal units in the UK. While research has mainly focused on healthcare organization, little is known about patient perspectives of entry onto the transplant waiting list. This qualitative study aimed to explore patients' views and experiences of kidney transplant listing. Methods. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients aged under 75, who were on dialysis and on the transplant waiting list, not on the waiting list, undergoing assessment for listing or who had received a transplant. Patients were recruited from a purposive sample of nine UK renal units, which included transplanting and non-transplanting units and units with high and low wait-listing patterns. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Results. Fifty-three patients (5-7 per renal unit) were interviewed. Patients reported that they had received little information about the listing process. Some patients did not know if they were listed or had found they were not listed when they had thought they were on the list. Others expressed distress when they felt they had been excluded from potential listing based on age and/or comorbidity and felt the process was unfair. Many patients were not aware of pre-emptive transplantation and believed they had to be on dialysis before being able to be listed. There was some indication that pre-emptive transplantation was discussed more often in transplant than non-transplant units. Lastly, some patients were reluctant to consider
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Books by Melania Calestani
Youth On Religion outlines the findings from a unique large-scale project investigating the meaning of religion to young people in three multi-faith locations. Drawing on survey data from over 10,000 young people with a range of faith positions, as well as a series of fascinating interviews, discussion groups and diary reports involving 160 adolescents, this book examines myriad aspects of their daily lives. It provides the most comprehensive account yet of the role of religion for young people growing up in contemporary, multicultural urban contexts.
""
Papers by Melania Calestani
Youth On Religion outlines the findings from a unique large-scale project investigating the meaning of religion to young people in three multi-faith locations. Drawing on survey data from over 10,000 young people with a range of faith positions, as well as a series of fascinating interviews, discussion groups and diary reports involving 160 adolescents, this book examines myriad aspects of their daily lives. It provides the most comprehensive account yet of the role of religion for young people growing up in contemporary, multicultural urban contexts.
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2010
Nicky Gregson, Helen Watkins & Melania Calestani (2010) Inextinguishable fibres: demolition and the vital materialisms of asbestos, Environment and Planning A 42: 1065 - 83