scholarly journals Care and reunification in a Cape Verdean family: Changing articulations of family and legal ties

Ethnography ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-70
Author(s):  
Heike Drotbohm

This article looks at the interaction between transnational family relationships, on the one hand, and family-related immigration policies, on the other. Taking the conflicting concerns that arose between administrative decision-makers and family members during an attempt to reunite a Cape Verdean family spread across several countries as an example, the questions of what ‘family’ means, what relationships are included and the nature of the relationships involved answered differently by different actors will be shown. The article discusses the way in which the regulation of transnational mobility according to specific categories of eligibility is giving social ties a concrete legal form which can run contrary to the social conventions and conceptions of migrants and their families. The focus is on both the normative categories that have repercussions for the core of the social sphere and on the family practices that react to these categorizations.

1970 ◽  
pp. 38-45
Author(s):  
May Abu Jaber

Violence against women (VAW) continues to exist as a pervasive, structural,systematic, and institutionalized violation of women’s basic human rights (UNDivision of Advancement for Women, 2006). It cuts across the boundaries of age, race, class, education, and religion which affect women of all ages and all backgrounds in every corner of the world. Such violence is used to control and subjugate women by instilling a sense of insecurity that keeps them “bound to the home, economically exploited and socially suppressed” (Mathu, 2008, p. 65). It is estimated that one out of every five women worldwide will be abused during her lifetime with rates reaching up to 70 percent in some countries (WHO, 2005). Whether this abuse is perpetrated by the state and its agents, by family members, or even by strangers, VAW is closely related to the regulation of sexuality in a gender specific (patriarchal) manner. This regulation is, on the one hand, maintained through the implementation of strict cultural, communal, and religious norms, and on the other hand, through particular legal measures that sustain these norms. Therefore, religious institutions, the media, the family/tribe, cultural networks, and the legal system continually disciplinewomen’s sexuality and punish those women (and in some instances men) who have transgressed or allegedly contravened the social boundaries of ‘appropriateness’ as delineated by each society. Such women/men may include lesbians/gays, women who appear ‘too masculine’ or men who appear ‘too feminine,’ women who try to exercise their rights freely or men who do not assert their rights as ‘real men’ should, women/men who have been sexually assaulted or raped, and women/men who challenge male/older male authority.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1964 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-71
Author(s):  
Juanita Turk

This study was undertaken to determine whether families of children with cystic fibrosis were experiencing difficulties in meeting family needs and in maintaining normal family relationships. It was found that families were not deprived of the essentials of living, but they were not able to maintain their usual pattern of family relationships. Time and energy precluded carrying on activities with each other and with the children; and there was breakdown in their ability to communicate adequately between themselves and the children regarding important family issues. In order to preserve the family as a functioning unit, someone has to be concerned about the entire family. Of necessity, the family has focused on the sick child, leaving the physician, the nurse, the social worker and/or the social agencies to help the family refocus on its total situation, rather than just a part of it. Traditionally, the mother takes care of the sick child. It is she who takes the child to the doctor's office and is responsible for carrying out his recommendations. In the care of a CF child, she assumes a heavy burden and frequently is fatigued from this responsibility. Because she is so tired and so occupied, she may misunderstand or distort what she is told by the physician, and may not be able to tell her husband or the children what they need to know in order to participate in family activities and in the care of the CF child. This situation can easily lead to misunderstanding and tension within the family. To avoid this, both parents could be encouraged, at some point, to come together to the physician's office for discussion. Such discussions could lead to more consideration and appreciation being given to each other. It might lessen the tendency for each to blame the other for the child's illness and could avoid the feeling voiced by one mother, "I would like to blow him out of his chair so that he would help me and understand what I go through." We also need to realize that the CF child is frequently aware of the demands he makes on the family. If these demands are not discussed freely, then everyone is caught in a "web of silence" revolving around his own feelings of frustration. This creates a burden for everyone, including the CF child, and if not discussed it can impair the psychological functioning of all members. The CF child needs to be encouraged to participate in his own care program and to assume some responsibilities for himself. He should not reach the age of seven being unable to tie his own shoes or dress himself, as has been observed in some CF children. It would seem feasible, therefore, that the CF child should have an awareness of what is wrong with him, and what his abilities and limitations are. The other siblings should also be given as much explanation as possible because they, too, are part of the family and attention and care is being diverted from them. This explanation could make for more understanding on the sibling's part. While it would still be difficult for him to accept some of the decisions made (such as why the parents could not get home from the hospital in order for him to use the family car for a senior prom), he would know that it was the situation that was causing the decrease in attention and care rather than rejection of him by the parents. In order to give these families as much assistance as possible, the community's resources should be utilized. Frequently, the parents are unaware of these or need encouragement to avail themselves of services. The homemaker service or visiting nurse service could free the family from constant care; the local youth program could be helpful to the siblings in the family, and Family Service Agencies could be used for counseling on family problems. In summary, this study points up the need for the total family to have an understanding and awareness of CF and to share such knowledge with one another; that all problems of the family have to be considered and not just those of the CF child; and that help from other professional people should be utilized along with sources of the community.


Author(s):  
Ann Buchanan

This chapter analyzes the importance of protective factors in family relationships. In Confucian societies, where services for older people may be limited, intergenerational family relationships are crucial in providing care for the elderly. Confucian societies are better at recognizing the protective influence of the family, but scholars from these areas suggest that the culture may be changing. As the “One child” norm extends (not only in China) across many Asian societies, the challenges for young people in supporting their parents and grandparents may become overwhelming. This chapter suggests that at every stage of the life cycle, some families will need state support in order to carry out their protective role in mitigating the risks experienced by both the young and the old. A state/family partnership approach is likely to be more acceptable, more effective, and more economic than state care alone.


1967 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-316
Author(s):  
N.K. Wagle

AbstractIn summing up, a number of conclusions can be drawn. We have tried on the one hand to establish the various de facto social groups implied in the formulae of address, reference and salutation ascertaining the group affiliation of the persons involved. We have also tried to bring out the meaning of various terms and establish a triple system of ranking. The meaning attached to these terms, we may point out, is specifically interactional, and the proof of its validity lies only in its consistency. We have demonstrated this throughout our presentation of the data as well as the conclusions. Our conclusions mainly indicate a three-fold system of ranking. In the social sphere the brāhmanas successfully maintain their hostile equality with the Buddha. But in the religious and political fields, they are not as successful. In the religious field the Buddhist order more than holds its own and claims several distinguished brāhmanas within its fold. Politically too, the Buddha is less encumbered than the brāhmanas. Unlike them, he is not servile to the king. Despite their actual humility in the king's presence, in their mode of address the brāhmanas recognize no superior in any system of ranking, but at the most only equals. They and the Buddhists have an equal hold on the gahapatis, who represent the secular population, the prizes in the religious struggle. Having analysed the social groupings, we may further comment on them and see if we can relate our "inferred" social ranking of the groups to what is already stated about them in the texts. We may


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno David Henriques ◽  
Regina Lunardi Rocha ◽  
Amanda Márcia dos Santos Reinaldo

ABSTRACT Drugs abuse is a complex phenomenon with many causes, and it affects children and adolescents. The objective of this research was to seek scientific evidence that contributes to the understanding of the existing relation between the use of crack and other drugs by children and adolescents and the family. The method used was the integrative review. The bases analyzed were: MEDLINE, LILACS, Cochrane, BDENF and IBECS. Descriptors: cocaine, crack, family and family relationships. Three categories were evidenced: Family environment as a protector and/or facilitator for the use of crack and other drugs by children and adolescents; Lack of knowledge and the repercussions of the use of crack and other drugs by children and adolescents in the family environment; Networks to support the family and coping with the use of crack and other drugs. The family environment has a protective function against the use of drugs, but the issue of drugs has to be faced and addressed. It is also necessary to strengthen the social networks and discuss prevention themes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-156
Author(s):  
Nicola Yeates ◽  
Freda Owusu-Sekyere

AbstractTransnational families occupy centre-stage in literatures on transformations in the social organisation and relations of care and welfare because they express how social bonds are sustained despite geographical separation. This paper examines some key themes arising from a research study into remittance-sending practices of UK-based Ghanaians and Nigerians in the light of research literatures on transnational family care and development finance. The data comprises qualitative interviews with 20 UK-based Ghanaian and Nigerian people who regularly send remittances to their families ‘back home’. This paper discusses a social issue that arises from the transnationalisation of family structures and relations, when migrant family members are positioned within family networks as ‘absent providers’, and familial relations eventually become financialised. The findings show the complexities of transnational living, the hardships endured by remittance-senders and the particular strains of remittance-mediated family relationships. The financialisation of family relations affects the social subjectivity and positioning of remittance-senders within the family. Strain and privation are integral to participants’ experiences of transnational family life, while themes of deception, betrayal, and expatriation also feature. The suppression of emotion is a feature of the significant labour inputs participants make in sustaining relationships within transnational families. The paper considers UK social policy implications of the findings.


2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludo Van der Heyden ◽  
Christine Blondel ◽  
Randel S. Carlock

The social science and business literatures on procedural justice or fair process attest that improvements in procedural fairness can be expected to improve both a firm's performance and the commitment and trust of the individuals involved with it. This article examines the relevance of procedural justice for family business. When a family is an influential component of a particular business system, the application of justice is typically rendered more complex than might be the case for nonfamily firms. Different criteria (need, merit, and equality) guide the application of distributive justice among families, firms, and shareholders. This divergence in criterion also lies at the heart of many conflicts inside the family business. In this article, we argue that the application of procedural justice reduces occurrences of conflict and, in some cases, may eliminate conflict altogether. We propose a definition of fair process that extends and enriches the one existing in the literature. We offer five fundamental criteria essential to the effectiveness of fair process in family firms. We conclude with a series of case studies that illustrate typical questions faced inside family businesses. We show that a lack of fairness in the decision and managerial processes governing these businesses and their associated families is a source of conflict. We describe how increasing fair process practices improves the performance of these businesses while also increasing the satisfaction of those associated with them.


2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred C. Gingrich

The assessment of missionaries tends to focus on the adult members of the family unit being approved for service. Yet, the family is the one consistent relational network that missionaries are connected to throughout the pre-field, on the field, and post-field phases of mission service. In addition, throughout the history of missions sending bodies have struggled to balance the needs of the missions context, the ministry gifts that the adult members of the family bring to the field, and the dynamics of their marital and family relationships. While the literature on missionary children has grown significantly, adopting a perspective that prioritizes the family unit as the unit being “sent” may result in helpful information regarding missionary attrition and longevity. Therefore, assessing missionary families, not only the individual members of the family, at the various stages of missionary service is warranted. Using concepts and techniques from systems theory, a model and logistical factors for assessing missionary families are presented, along with suggestions for whom to assess, what to assess, and how to conduct family assessment. Resources and possible assessment techniques are also provided.


1988 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Wilson ◽  
Ray Pahl

Recent attempts to announce the death of the family as a useful analytical category for sociologists are rebutted as being premature. The tendency to view household relations as family relations or, indeed, couple or gender relations as family relations seems to have arisen in the early 1970s. Earlier attempts to construct an empirically grounded analysis of family relationships have been curiously neglected. An account of one family on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent provides some illustrative ethnography on both the positive uses of family members – particularly siblings – and on the way the social boundaries of this family are constructed by its members. It is argued that the family is best understood as a system of relationships that change over time. There is a curious lack of systematic ethnography of contemporary family relationships so that what is taught to students as the sociology of the family may be widely at variance with their own personal experience. This may be partly a result of relying too much on random surveys of households at the expense of detailed explorations of existing patterns of social relationships and social meanings. Developing theoretical arguments on the basis of inadequate or inappropriate ethnography is evidently a dangerous and misleading exercise.


Author(s):  
Bita H. Zakeri

Identity is an issue that everyone struggles with on a daily basis while constantly changing, adapting, and becoming agents of the social spheres in which we participate. At large, a society and its social demands mold us into becoming agents of that society. Literacy and education are at the heart of this social molding, from within the family sphere to the larger social spheres. But how can one reformat all the sociocultural training he/she has received in order to adapt to a new social sphere and simply change, lose, and gain identity? These questions are significant to multicultural societies such as US and Canada, and even more prevalent with respect to immigrant populations. Using autoethnographical data and literature in this area, this paper discusses the issues of immigrant identity and literacy in twofold: a) the lack of attention to immigration and acculturation phenomena; b) the importance of understanding immigrant students’ experiences and the need for diversification of teachers and teaching methods, concluding with suggestions for further research.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document