CFP: Migrations and health inequalities in Europe

RN 16 Sociology of Health and Illness

CALL FOR PAPERS (Un)Making Europe: Capitalism, Solidarities, Subjectivities

13th Conference of the European Sociological Association

www.esa13thconference.eu

29 August – 1 September 2017 Athens, Greece

Abstract deadline: 1 February 2017

RN 16 GENERAL CALL

Europe can be made or unmade, which is especially true after the economic and social crisis of 2008. European societies and the idea of Europe have been challenged: contradictions of capitalism, fragmented solidarities and subjectivities have resulted in protest by some citizens and apathy from others. How is this context affecting the health of European societies, their populace and their health policy systems? The Board of Research Network 16 Sociology of Health and Illness invites abstract submissions that will be considered for presentation at the next ESA conference in Athens (29 August – 1 September 2017). These proposals might focus on health issues and/or aspects of health system in relation to the themes of the conference:
‘Capitalism’, ‘Solidarities’ and ‘Subjectivities’. Capitalism might be investigated in relation to resources allocated to health care in terms of cost, market dynamics, the role of different actors in health policies, or the impact of health policies in terms of health inequalities. Solidarities within European boundaries and with the rest of the world form a key aspect of European societies. Therefore these solidarities might be investigated in relation to the health of migrants, older people, people with disabilities etc in a variety of contexts.

Subjectivities affect the relationship between health professionals and citizens as well as the cultural aspects of health issues. Moreover the subjective perception of individual health is affected by structural data, socioeconomic conditions as well as by biographical experiences. Submission of abstracts focusing on these themes is welcome. The board strongly encourages the submission of abstracts with a comparative European perspective, although national or local studies will also be considered.

Abstracts may be submitted in response to this RN 16 general call or to the RN 16 specific session or joint session proposals.

RN16_RN35: Migrations and health inequalities in Europe (Joint Session with RN35 Sociology of Migration)

Organisers: 
Angela Genova (Department of Economics, Society, Politics, University of Urbino Carlo Bo) and Meghann Ormond (Cultural Geography Chair Group, Wageningen University and Research - Email: meghann.ormond [at] wur.nl)

Migration flows within member states as well as from non-European countries have shaped European societies over the last century. Nonetheless, in the last decade migration processes have challenged some of the main values of European societies: solidarity has declined in heterogeneous ways and new selective criteria have been introduced. Welfare systems have been affected by demographic changes as well by political debates defining new accessing criteria and therefore new boundaries between insiders and outsiders. The joint session will investigate the relationship between migration and health policy in European member states, encouraging a comparative approach. Moreover it will investigate the health inequality dimensions affecting migrant populations and the cultural dimensions of health issues related to migrants.

CFP: ‘Whose heritages matter? Re-imagining “Dutch-ness” through migration in and beyond the Netherlands’

Call for participation:

‘Whose heritages matter? Re-imagining “Dutch-ness” through migration in and beyond the Netherlands’

‘The Value of Life: Measurement, Stakes, Implications’ International Conference

Wageningen, The Netherlands, 28-30 June 2017

https://centreforspaceplacesociety.wordpress.com/events/2017-conference/

Session 1: What might the Canon van Nederland look like from a migration heritage perspective?

Identities are dynamic, constructed and reconstructed across time and space. Yet, when they are questioned, tensions frequently rise. Consider, for example, when Argentine-born Maxima, now Queen of the Netherlands, suggested in a controversial 2007 speech that ‘The Netherlands is too complex to sum up in one cliché. A typical Dutch person doesn't exist’. Acknowledging the complexity of identity challenges right-wing political parties in the Netherlands and elsewhere throughout Europe to attempt to simplify the politics of identity into an essentialised ‘us/them’ binary, positing the ideals of a ‘majority’ population in opposition to ‘minority’ populations. They argue that the ‘dominant majority’ should have more say in establishing (national) identities than ‘minorities’, stoking anti-immigrant and anti-Islam sentiment. 

In light of the growth in popularity of anti-immigrant views, this conference session seeks to generate timely reflection and discussion about what heritages and whose heritages currently are – and could be – included in the many sites in which representations of (post-)national history and identity can be found. In 2015, the ‘Decolonising the Museum’ conference (http://www.internationaleonline.org/media/files/decolonisingmuseums-2.pdf) stimulated postcolonial reflection on the limits and possibilities in the 21st century of museums and archives with holdings representing Europe’s colonial legacy. In line with the 2017 Value of Life conference foci on what makes a life matter, social practices around valuing life, and the constitution of ‘population’ as an object of government, we use this conference session to extend such postcolonial reflection.

For this session, we invite participants to reflect on the ‘Canon van Nederland’ (http://entoen.nu/). Those curating the Canon have sought to foster critical reflection on how people, especially schoolchildren, are ‘trained’ to understand and position themselves in relation to ‘Dutch’ heritage within and beyond the contemporary borders of the Netherlands. The Canon, accessible via an online archive and currently managed by the Openluchtmuseum, assumes a post-national perspective and intends to provide an opening for dialogue both within and outside of schools about the dynamic ways in which ‘Dutch-ness’ travels, emerges and manifests itself through time and space (http://www.entoen.nu/doc/AKeyToDutchHistory.pdf). 

We ask scholars, heritage practitioners and community representatives concerned with identifying, protecting, collecting and communicating migrant heritage (e.g., experiences of economic migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, development workers, international students, soldiers, missionaries, etc.) to critically engage with the Canon. What might the Canon look like through the varied lenses of people with diverse migration experiences? Who is involved in assessing what heritages are worthwhile to remember, protect and share? 

Session 2: What might a ‘Canon van Wageningen’ look like from a migration heritage perspective?

Building on discussions in Session 1, we then turn to the ‘glocal’ level. In this session, we get scholars, heritage practitioners and community representatives concerned with identifying, protecting, collecting and communicating migrant heritage to reflect on what could be included in a ‘Canon van Wageningen’, as Wageningen (the site of the conference) has not yet been included in the Canon van Nederland regional site (http://www.regiocanons.nl/). Wageningen – as a home to the Netherlands’ most internationally-diverse university, a base for far-reaching agricultural development and humanitarian aid interventions around the globe, and a significant site for the Second World War – provides opportunities to examine which and whose heritages have been and can be acknowledged and represented at a ‘glocal’ level.

Session organisers:

Karin Peters and Meghann Ormond, Cultural Geography, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands

Abstracts:

Those interested in participating are requested to submit a 250-word abstract to Meghann Ormond (meghann.ormond@wur.nl) and Karin Peters (Karin.peters@wur.nl) along with a short bio by no later than 13 January 2017.  

New article: Connecting with prospective medical tourists online

Moghavvemi, S., Ormond, M., Musa, G. et al. (2016) 'Connecting with prospective medical tourists online: A cross-sectional analysis of private hospital websites promoting medical tourism in India, Malaysia and Thailand', Tourism Management, 58, 154-163. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2016.10.010

Free text available until 17 December 2016: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261517716301881

Highlights

• Websites of private hospitals promoting medical tourism in India, Malaysia and Thailand is examined.
• The content and format of 51 hospitals across five dimensions analyzed.
• Results provide pointers for hospital managers to improve their online presence.

Abstract

Websites of private hospitals promoting medical tourism are important marketing channels for showcasing and promoting destinations' medical facilities and their array of staff expertise, services, treatments and equipment to domestic and foreign patient-consumers alike. This study examines the websites of private hospitals promoting medical tourism in three competing Asian countries (India, Malaysia and Thailand) in order to look at how these hospitals present themselves online and seek to appeal to the perceived needs of (prospective) medical tourists. The content and format of 51 hospitals are analyzed across five dimensions: hospital information and facilities, admission and medical services, interactive online services, external activities, and technical items. Results show differences between Indian, Malaysian and Thai hospital websites, pointing to the need for hospital managers to improve their hospitals’ online presence and interactivity.

Keywords

• Content analysis;
• Hospital websites;
• Medical tourism;
• Patient;
• On-line search;
• Medical provider