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Local organizers harmed by global corporations can find solidarity and resources among other impacted localities. Formosa Plastics Group (FPG), a transnational petrochemical conglomerate from Taiwan, has caused environmental disasters and subsequent opposition movements in Vietnam, the U.S., and in their home country. Crossing physical and cultural borders, activists from these communities are using their shared knowledge and power to demand retribution. The International Monitor Formosa Alliance, or IMFA, represents the coordination of global anti-FPG activists to address localized issues. On October 31st, for example, activists converged in front of a FPG facility in Point Comfort, Texas to lead a Global Hunger Strike against the company's actions in Vietnam. Bringing together various networks and knowledges, the strike calls for justice years after the Ha Tinh Steel Plant in Vietnam released toxic pollutants, causing mass fish death in 2016. Diane Wilson, strike leader and Goldman Environmental Prize winner, has coordinated with Nancy Bui, leader of Justice for Formosa’s Victims, and other global activists to demand compensation for Vietnamese victims and release of imprisoned protestors. Their collaboration can serve as a model for other communities opposing global industry. 

Image source: Zoe Friese. 

Pictured: Activists (left to right) Nancy Bui, DIane Wilson and Sharon Lavigne with enviromental lawyer (far right) Marco Simons speaking at a confressional briefing about the 2016 Ha Tihn Steel Plant incident hosted by the IMFA.

Friese, Zoe. 2023. "The International Monitor Formosa Alliance: Addressing Local Issues with Global Alliances." In 4S Paraconference X EiJ: Building a Global Record, curated by Misria Shaik Ali, Kim Fortun, Phillip Baum and Prerna Srigyan. Annual Meeting of the Society of Social Studies of Science. Honolulu, Hawai'i, Nov 8-11. 

The object of the study was to determine what cultural competence means across the relationships of patients, clinicians, and administrators. The study was performed to reveal the 'barriers' in patient care becasue of cultural implications. The lack of a patient-physcian relationship due to cultural barriers whether that be race or ethnicity, lack of explanation of a diagnosis or the differences in appraoches to patient care- as percieved by administration, patients and doctors.

The study is publiched on NCBI in a library of medicine for NIHM. On this database (original publisher could not be found- presumed to be in a medical journal, the author works for Columbia University) contains may important and valid articles that contain vital information for the future of mental and physical health of others. Publications in this database are natural and presumed to be credible because its association with NIHMS.

The study was perfomed by taking three groups of people from a diverse hospital in Brooklyn-patients, administrators and physicsans and asks them the same ballpark set of question about cultural competence. And how it affects a patient-physician relationship. This is not a new way of studying issues, case studies are quite a common way (in group questioning) to determine how "populations" feel about a topic.

This study has travelled via the definition of cultural competence on many academic and medical websites regarding psychological ideologies.

Technical professionals can make use of this study as a basis of how cultral competnce should be viewed in a healthcare workplace. TO determine the needs of the patients, physicians and higher ups use culture and their expertice to determine a proper patient-physician relationship.

The study addresses vulnerable populations by presiding in an area of high culture and diversity. The study participants were from all backround and genders, so teh study would not be biased.

The study was not funded it was on a volunteer basis, where particpiants would be paid for their time and information gathered would be used for the study.