Aging in a Foreign Country: Voices of Iranian Women Aging in Canada

ABSTRACT

Older Iranian women, who immigrated to Canada in later adulthood, experience unique issues as they age. In order to better understand this experience, in-depth, personal and semi-structured interviews were conducted with five immigrant/refugee Iranian women who immigrated to Canada in their later life. Analysis revealed that although each woman's story conveyed individual differences and idiosyncrasies, all the stories highlighted the critical interweaving of the aging experience and the immigration experience: neither experience could be understood in isolation of the other; each aspect gave meaning to the other experience. Two interrelated messages dominated the women's stories: first was the importance of each woman's immigration story for grounding her experience of the aging process in Canada. Second, each woman's personal story suggested that the immigration experiences were accorded priority for accounting for her experiences in Canada. Specifically, cultural identity (i.e., social class, education, religious affiliation and immigration status) offered a valuable cloak for overshadowing the force of the aging process and the aging process emerged as an elusive force that lurked in the background without ever being fully acknowledged or given power in their lives. The implications of these findings in relation to theory development on intersectionality and professional practice are discussed.     

Subjective Versus Objective Definitions of Homelessness: Are there Differences in Risk Factors among Heavy-Drinking Women?

Investigations with homeless populations have focused on those living on the streets or in shelters; few have examined phenomena based on respondents’ self-definitions as homeless or not. This investigation examined similarities and differences among risk factors (including mental health, substance abuse, religion/spirituality, social support, and risky sexual behaviors) using two definitions of homelessness: one where place of residence defined individuals as homeless (the ‘objective’ or traditional, definition) and another where respondents defined themselves as homeless (the ‘subjective’ definition). Data come from the baseline survey of the NIAAA-funded “Sister-to-Sister” study (n = 339) of heavy-drinking women. Subjectively defined homelessness was associated with higher rates of mental health and substance use disorders, lower rates of condom use, higher rates of trading sex for food, and less social support. Objectively defined homelessness was associated with higher rates of drinking in abandoned buildings, on the streets, and in public restrooms, more new sexual partners, and higher rates of trading sex for heroin and speedballs. Investigations failing to ask for subjective information may misattribute some factors to homelessness which may overestimate the effect of various factors on homelessness. Investigators should ask respondents to define their homelessness, or they lose an important dimension of the concept of homelessness.

“The Story of My Life”: AIDS and ‘Autobiographical Occasions’

Talk and ‘telling’ have assumed prominent roles in preventing HIV and promoting life with the disease at the start of the twenty-first century. Our concern in this paper is to show how social structures and circumstances shape the narrative productions of HIV positive patients whose lives are institutionally managed. We consider what ‘telling’ means when young women with few economic resources are encouraged or mandated to talk about themselves by case managers, researchers, therapists, welfare workers, and clinic staff. We organize our analysis around three such ‘autobiographical occasions’: disclosures to intimate partners prompted by agents of the state; employment opportunities in which women are hired to tell others about living with HIV as peer educators or outreach health workers; and research interviews. We argue that storylines about living with HIV have been laid down by powerful social actors whose illness experiences do not reflect those of many poor patients. These formulations constitute an ‘archive’ which organizes institutional practices and discourses. These matter not only because they provide patients with a language through which to render their actions meaningful, but because they shape the everyday experience of HIV outside the clinic, the welfare office, and the therapy session.

Sacrificing Women: A Study of Ritualized Practices among Women Volunteers in India

This study addresses issues related to inequality formation and reproduction, especially in regard to gender dynamics operating in a non-western society. Grounded in a post-colonial understanding of urban educated upper and middle class women NGO volunteers in contemporary India, it analyzes how they negotiate new approaches to challenge existing traditional gender roles, yet in critical ways contribute to their reproduction, particularly the traditional concept of ideal Indian womanhood. Employing structural ritualization theory we examine how ritualized symbolic practices related to the traditional concepts of caretaking, sacrifice, and the concept of natural sexual differences continue to be emphasized in a generation confronted with conflicting expectations about modern women’s roles. Twenty-one testimonies provide the major source of evidence along with data gathered through participant observation. This research enhances our understanding of the power of rituals and how they can continue to shape the cognitions and activities of actors.

中国育龄妇女孩次递进比分析

通过孩次递进比计算方法的比较选择,本文运用第五次全国人口普查1%.抽样数据分别计算中国2000年育龄妇女的各年龄别孩次递进比、城乡孩次递进比、区域孩次递进比,揭示中国育龄妇女生育水平的分布状况.     

青海女性人口文化素质的现状与对策分析

青海女性人口文化素质偏低是由经济、传统文化观念、自然环境和女性身心特点等造成的。要进一步提高女性人口的文化素质,必须加快经济发展、发挥政府主导作用以及强化女性主体意识。     

The Consequences of Caregiving: Effects on Women’s Employment and Earnings

Caregiving to family members comprises a major part of familial obligations in the United States. Informal caregiving is unevenly distributed in society, with women performing most of the work and bearing the burden of its costs. This paper addresses the cost dimension of informal caregiving to family members by examining whether and how it penalizes women’s employment. Drawing data from the 1987 and 1992 National Survey of Families and Households, we examine whether and how caregiving transitions affect changes in women’s labor force participation and the implications of this caregiving transitions for their earnings. We calculate how these effects vary for demographically different groups of women: those older and younger, with and without high levels of education, and married and not married. Our findings reveal that for most women, the initiation of caregiving led to a substantial reduction in their weekly hours worked and annual earnings. However, the effects were different for various subgroups of women: those older, with fewer skills, and more competing roles paid substantial costs if they began caregiving between 1987 and 1992.     

宁夏女性领导绩效影响因素与提升路径研究

习近平主席在全球妇女峰会上强调,中国将更加积极贯彻男女平等的基本国策,发挥妇女"半边天"作用,支持妇女建功立业、实现人生理想和梦想。通过接受高质量的培训发展项目,女性领导可以促进自身发展和有效提升领导绩效。特别是在优秀组织文化的影响和加持下,女性领导的领导绩效可以得到更为出色的发挥,从而助力女性领导和组织实现双赢,最终实现她们的人生理想。     

希腊和日本神话隐喻对女性性别角色的折射

性别歧视现象在东西方文化中普遍存在,男权制根深蒂固。神话隐喻折射出女性特点,也有意无意地向世人传达了它们的主题。希腊神话中的女性显现出"真"、"美"的原生态特征,多为罪恶之源;而日本神话中的女性虽从属于男性,但两性关系更为和谐、融洽。