"I Feel Happy that I Can be Useful to Others": Preliminary Study of East African Women and Their Remittance Behavior

Individuals and their families often migrate for various reasons (e.g., economic wellbeing, civic unrest, medical reasons). Yet often times economic strain can cause families to migrate at different times. This separation within the family units has created the development of transnational family interactions where immigrant families remain emotionally and financially connected across international borders. Remittances, the back and forth exchange of goods and resources between people in the host nation and their counterparts in the country of origin, can often play a vital role in these interactions. Black African immigrants, Black people from the continent of Africa, are one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the US and also one of the highest financial remitters. Women are consistent remitters, yet little is known about the financial contributions of women from this continent to their families in their countries of origin. The current study looked at a segment of this population by exploring the remittance experiences of seven immigrant women from the East African countries of Rwanda and Kenya. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted and our thematic analysis revealed five themes: (1) Women felt their families made financial sacrifices for them, (2) Women took on family financial responsibilities, (3) Women felt their families in the country of origin had skewed financial expectations of them, (4) Women felt guilty about their limited finances and inability to send more to their families, and lastly (5) Women invested or had plans to invest in their country of origin.     

Divorce: obstacles and opportunities – South Asian women in Britain

As divorce rates appear to rise amongst South Asian communities in Britain the repercussions for their members remain invisible and neglected in the research literature. The paper argues that this oversight needs to be addressed as it explores the findings from two separate studies to highlight some of the possible ramifications of divorce on South Asian women. The experiences presented here show that whilst divorce can have the most devastating effects on women in terms of their exclusion, it also presents some opportunities and optimism for their future. Furthermore, divorced women can not only bring positive change to their own lives, but also in the process, transform the cultures in which they live.     

An exploration of social & emotional factors impacting well-being in women who have sex with women (WSW)

Abstract

“Women who have sex with women” or WSW have unique perspectives within the LBGTQ spectrum. The purpose of this study included documenting perceptions, feelings, and experiences among WSW. Thirty-seven women participated in six focus groups, ages ranged from 20–64 years. Responses were transcribed and thematically coded. Four themes emerged as influencing factors: shame and fear, community, gender roles, and normalcy. Each major theme produced minor themes providing a context within major themes. Results offer valuable insights that can assist community members, health professionals, and scientists to better appraise the disparities and stigma impacting social and emotional well-being among WSW.     

Gender,social change,and the professions: The case of pharmacy

This paper examines the nature of increasing female entry into the profession of pharmacy. Using data from a survey of Ontario pharmacists, it compares the work experiences and career paths of 668 men and women in the profession. In terms of hours worked, where they work, and the nature of the work that they do, we found considerable differences between males and females that are becoming increasingly pronounced as more women enter the profession. These findings are then discussed in terms of available theories of gender, professions and social change.     

Visual social network analysis: effective approach to model complex human social, behaviour & culture

The advent and adoption of internet-based social networking has significantly altered our daily lives. The educational community has taken notice of the positive aspects of social networking such as creation of blogs and to support groups of system designers going through the same challenges and difficulties. This paper introduces a social networking framework for collaborative education, design and modeling of the next generation of smarter products and services. Human behaviour modeling in social networking application aims to ensure that human considerations for learners and designers have a prominent place in the integrated design and development of sustainable, smarter products throughout the total system lifecycle. Social networks blend self-directed learning and prescribed, existing information. The self-directed element creates interest within a learner and the ability to access existing information facilitates its transfer, and eventual retention of knowledge acquired.     

Canadian and Irish farm women: Some similarities,differences and comments

Il appert à la lecture des études récentes du travail des fermières dans différents pays que le rǒle des femmes est souvent méconnu et dévalorisé. Cette communication examine les similitudes entre les travaux agricoles et les travaux ménagers à la ferme, le travail en garderie et le travail communautaire bénévole chez les femmes canadiennes et irlandaises et constate une commune dévalorisation dans les deux cas. La principale différence entre les deux groupes de femmes réside dans le fait que les fermières canadiennes sont organisées en cercles de fermières, affiliés pour la plupart à une organisation nationale des fermières. Ces cercles et l'organisation nationale sont parvenus à attiré beaucoup plus d'attention sur la contribution des femmes et le travail. Or, il n'existe rien de comparable chez les fermières irlandaises. L'auteure analyse quelques-uns des facteurs qui expliquent que les fermières se soient organisées au Canada mais pas en Irlande et cherche à évaluer la contribution que des groupes de fermières pourraient faire à l'élaboration d'une politique de développement rural intégré. Recent international research suggests that the work of farm women is frequently unrecognized and undervalued. This paper considers the similarities between the farm work, farm household work, child care work and voluntary community work carried out by Canadian and Irish farm women, and how in both cases it is undervalued. The major difference between the two sets of farm women is the organization of Canadian farm women into farm women's groups, most of whom are affiliated to the Canadian Farm Women's Network. These groups have successfully increased the attention given to the role of farm women and their work. There is no comparable organization of farm women in Ireland. Some reasons why farm women's groups have emerged in Canada but not in Ireland are explored. Finally, the potential for farm women's groups to contribute to comprehensive rural development policy is considered.