Doing Ethnographic Research. Kimberly Kirner

PTC/PROP bitter taste responsiveness at locus TAS2R38 is a well-established index of individual variation in oral sensation that has been linked with predicting food liking and consumption. Previous studies suggest that the relationship between PTC/PROP and anthropometric traits remains controversial.

      Objectives: To explore the role of TAS2R38 locus in taste choices, adolescent growth trend for body height, weight and fat patterning among girls and to evaluate their growth status.

      Materials and methods: Cross-sectional data on 210 girls ranging in age from 11–18 years were collected from Palampur in the Kangra valley of Himachal Pradesh.

      Results: The proportion of PTC non-tasters was 19.52%. PTC tasters and non-tasters had some differences in their food choices and preferences. More sensitive PTC tasters had a low preference for raw cruciferous vegetables and bitter tasting foods (like bitter gourd) and beverages, while they had higher preference for sweet-tasting foods (p < 0.05). PTC tasters overtook their PTC non-taster counterparts from age 14 through 16 years in having higher mean average skinfold, percentage body fat, fat mass index and fat-free mass index. PTC non-tasters had higher mean stature than tasters through all age groups. PTC tasters had slightly higher mean body weight than tasters at age 11, but in later years the advantage was lost; the total gain among non-tasters through adolescence was higher (78.20%) than tasters (66.92%). PTC thresholds significantly and negatively correlated with body height.

      Conclusions: TAS2R38 locus seems to have a role in food tastes, choices and preferences. Perceived bitterness of PTC/PROP thresholds were significantly and negatively correlated with body height and fat-free mass. These results, thus, tentatively suggest that the PTC non-taster gene may help in better absorption of calcium than its counter taster allele. Studies on differences in calcium metabolism between PTC tasters and non-tasters are needed to confirm these indications across cultures.

      Example

      Non-example

      Problem 1

      West, Colin Thor. 2015. “Public and Private Responses to Food Insecurity: Complementarity in Burkina Faso.” Culture, Agriculture, Food and Environment 37 (2): 53–62.

      This article explores the contemporary context of food insecurity in Mossi communities of the northern Central Plateau region of Burkina Faso. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative ethnographic field data from three time periods, the research illustrates how public and private responses to seasonal food insecurity are improving and becoming more appropriate to local contexts. The Government of Burkina Faso and NGOs have invested in improved agricultural technologies that farmers have rapidly adopted. They have also assisted in the development of local institutions such as village cereal banks that help farmers self-insure against crop failure. Whereas other scholars have described tensions between private and public responses to agroclimatic shocks that ultimately make rural producers more vulnerable, this case study illustrates how the two are complementary and reinforce one another. Overall, seasonal household food insecurity is declining in the northern Central Plateau region of Burkina Faso.

       (Use the worksheet at the end of the chapter to complete this problem.)

      Problem 2

      Chan, Kwok Shing. 2010. “Traditionality and Hybridity: A Village Cuisine in Metropolitan Hong Kong.” Visual Anthropology 24 (1–2): 171–88.

      This article examines the development and transformation of a village cuisine, called poonchoi, in contemporary Hong Kong. It aims at revealing the values, meanings and practices of a cosmopolitan lifestyle in modern or contemporary late-capitalist society in Hong Kong, and examines how they are explicitly manifested in and shaped by omnipresent advertising in a consumer society. Poonchoi is a traditional dish of the indigenous villagers in rural Hong Kong, made for celebrating major festivals and ceremonial events. Its ingredients are local, inexpensive and ordinary. Culturally and geographically this rural, ethnic and exotic cuisine has been defined by Hong Kong urbanites as something marginal in their social life and eating culture. But after the 1980s it gained a great deal of popularity due to changing social and economic conditions in Hong Kong. Nowadays through a process of pervasive marketing and an intensive commodification this village cuisine has become a fashionable food and part of the social life of the people of Hong Kong. Various commercial or hybrid versions of poonchoi, which contain a spectrum of international and expensive foods with an undiscriminating combination of traditional ingredients, have been introduced and marketed by the catering industry. They cater to the different needs and tastes of customers who relish conspicuous consumption or are obsessed with tasting exotic, trendy and luxury foods. These consumption practices represent and constitute a cosmopolitan lifestyle for the people of Hong Kong.

       (Use the worksheet at the end of the chapter to complete this problem.)

      Activity 1.3: Dependent and Independent Variables

      Background: Researchers may use various approaches to their research—humanities versus sciences orientation, induction versus deduction, or exploratory versus confirmatory research. No matter what approach researchers use, they will collect data on variables related to their topic. Variables are aspects of a research question that can take on more than one value. Researchers define variables, look for relationships between them, and try to understand what causes them.

      This activity will help you identify dependent and independent variables, as well as complexities that can make this identification difficult.

      Key Terms and Concepts

       Variables

       Independent variables

       Dependent variables

      Instructions

      Using the three-column Variables Graphic Organizer (at the end of the chapter) and abstracts provided, identify dependent and independent variables and justify your decisions. First, find the purpose or main point of the study. Then find the independent versus dependent variables, which arise around the study’s main purpose.

      Common Mistakes

      Common mistakes students make when identifying variables:

       Depending on their assumptions rather than analyzing the verbs and phrases used to link the variables

       Trying to force every variable into a clearly dependent or independent category, when it might be vague, unclear, or uncertain

       Justifying their identifications based on entire portions of text, rather than clearly identifying verbs and phrases that relate one variable to another

      Ask Yourself

       How can I use the stated learning objective to help me focus my attention?

       If I don’t understand, do I know some strategies to use to improve my understanding?

      Sample Problem

      Giampiccoli, Andrea, and Janet Hayward Kalis. 2012. “Tourism, Food, and Culture: Community-Based Tourism, Local Food, and Community Development in Mpondoland.” Culture, Agriculture, Food and Environment 34 (2): 101–23.

      Example

      Tourism is often seen as a tool for poverty alleviation and community