scholarly journals Gender Imbalance, Marriage Squeeze and Multiple Biological Clocks: Exploring the Challenges to Intergenerational Contract in North India

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-111
Author(s):  
Paro Mishra ◽  
Ravinder Kaur

This paper maps the impact of gender imbalance on intergenerational relations in north India. It uses the idea of multiple biological clocks to understand the impact that gender imbalance and male marriage squeeze have on two categories of persons: “overage” unmarried sons and their aging parents, and the inter-generational contract between them within the family-household. De-linking the idea of the biological clock from the female body, this paper demonstrates that social understandings of bodily progression are equally significant for men, who, in the Indian context, need to marry by a certain age, and their elderly parents who need to be cared for. In north India, where family-household unit is the most important welfare and security institution for the elderly, disruptions to household formation due to bride shortage caused by sex ratio imbalance, is subjecting families to severe stress. Families with unmarried sons struggle with anxieties centred on the inability to arrange marriages for aging sons, questions of allocation of household labor, the continuation of family line, and lack of care for the elderly. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in north India, this paper explores the tensions and negotiations between elderly parents and unmarried sons concerning the fulfillment (or lack of it) of the intergenerational contract against the backdrop of gender imbalance. It concludes by discussing the various strategies available to families in crisis that involve shame-faced adoption of domestic and care tasks by unmarried sons or bringing cross-region brides who then provide productive, reproductive, and care labour.

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liangni Sally Liu (刘良妮)

With the accelerating trend toward transnational families in many parts of the world associated with globalization, coping with the demand for family reunification has become a major challenge for both migrant families and migrant-sending and -receiving societies. In July 2012, a significant policy change regarding the Family Sponsorship Stream (Parent Category) took place in New Zealand, which raised the bar for migrants’ elderly parents on entering New Zealand as permanent residents. This policy change has a significant impact on many Chinese migrant families from the People’s Republic of China (prc), where filial piety is an important part of traditional values and the state provides very limited ageing support to the elderly. In the meantime, legislation came into force in China in July 2013 that requires children to visit their* elderly parents “often” or risk being sued. This paper takes these policy and legislative changes as a starting point for an exploration of the changing dynamics of Chinese migrant families in New Zealand in a multi-generational and transnational context. It first examines the impact of the New Zealand policy and then discusses the wider implications of this policy change on migrant family dynamics as well as on New Zealand society. The second focus is on younger generations in the Chinese migrant families. Linking three generations of the Chinese migrant families together, the final part of this paper addresses a highly pertinent research area — the intergenerational dimensions of transnational migration. 全球化进程催速了跨国移民家庭现象的形成。这些身居异地的移民家庭成员对家庭团聚有着非常强烈的诉求, 但却面临来自移民源发国和接收国制度和体系造成的对家庭团聚的种种阻碍。 新西兰在 2012 年开始执行新的家庭团聚担保政策。紧缩的新政策使成年移民子女担保父母移民变得更加困难,对新西兰新华人移民家庭造成了负面影响。原因主要是子女孝顺与父母同住的华人传统理念与新西兰不欢迎移民年老父母的政策倾向形成的冲突。华人移民家庭面临的压力还来自于移民源发国—— 中国的新立法改革。2013 年 7 月中国正式立法规定成年子女必须勤力探望照顾年迈父母,否则将会面临法律指控。本文以这项新立法为着眼点,深入探究新西兰多代大陆华人新移民家庭现在面临的来自家庭内部成员间的压力和来自外部跨国移民趋势的影响。本文首先研究新西兰 2012 年家庭父母类别团聚新政策对移民社区的冲击和影响, 再深入分析该新移民政策调整对移民家庭内部关系,种族关系的引申社会含义。 本文最后一部分着重比对出一个至今还被忽略的研究领域空白—那就是跨国移民的代际维度。 This article is in English.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 677-697 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Chang ◽  
Yaojiang Shi ◽  
Hongmei Yi ◽  
Natalie Johnson

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effect of adult children migration on the health status of elderly parents. Increased labor migration in developing countries that lack adequate social security systems and institutionalized care for the elderly is a phenomenon that is important to understand. When their adult children go away to work, it is not clear what effect there will be on “left-behind” elderly parents. Design/methodology/approach This study employs nearly nationally representative data from five provinces, 25 counties, 101 villages and 2,000 households, collected from two waves of data in 2007 and 2011. This sample comprises a subset of households which include both elderly individuals (above 60 years old) and their grown (working-aged) children in order to estimate the impact of adult child migration on the health of elderly parents in rural China. Findings This study finds that adult child migration has a significant positive impact on the health of elderly family members. Practical implications These findings are consistent with the explanation that migration raises family resources, which in turn may contribute to better health outcomes for elderly household members. Originality/value This is the first paper to attempt to identify the relationship between household migration and the health of elderly parents within the Chinese context.


2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-479
Author(s):  
Vinitha Jithoo ◽  
Maria Marchetti-Mercer ◽  
Leslie Swartz

Globalization and the mobility of people across domestic and international boundaries have become part of the rhythm and tempo of the modern world, and increasingly the elderly remaining behind comprise a sizable and integral part of contemporary society. Their successful adaptation has become an important consideration not only for them, but for their families and society. This article explores the coping strategies used in finding coherence when confronting this disruptive life event. As part of a larger study exploring the impact of South African emigration on the elderly, we interviewed 25 elderly parents of skilled emigrants. Using thematic analysis, we show how these parents coped with ambiguous loss of emigration, making use of technology and alternative configurations of identity and care to conceptualize their lives and current contexts. More research is needed to understand migration and aging, an issue likely to become more prominent.


2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myriam Juda ◽  
Mirjam Münch ◽  
Anna Wirz-Justice ◽  
Martha Merrow ◽  
Till Roenneberg

Abstract: Among many other changes, older age is characterized by advanced sleep-wake cycles, changes in the amplitude of various circadian rhythms, as well as reduced entrainment to zeitgebers. These features reveal themselves through early morning awakenings, sleep difficulties at night, and a re-emergence of daytime napping. This review summarizes the observations concerning the biological clock and sleep in the elderly and discusses the documented and theoretical considerations behind these age-related behavioral changes, especially with respect to circadian biology.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 221-228
Author(s):  
Piotr Czarnecki ◽  
◽  
Justyna Podgórska-Bednarz ◽  
Lidia Perenc ◽  
◽  
...  

Introduction. Physical activity is known to be an important factor influencing health throughout human life. This issue has become crucial for public health due to the aging of the population in both developed and developing countries. Aim. is to present a literature review on the forms of physical activity undertaken by the elderly, as well as on issues related to physical activity and the population aging. Material and methods. The study was prepared on the basis of a review of Polish and foreign literature. The following databases and data sources were used: EBSCO, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. An additional source of data were the websites of the Central Statistical Office. Strictly defined key phrases were used during the collection of literature. The work has been divided into thematic subsections on the aging of the society, the impact of physical activity on health and the main topic, i.e. forms of physical activity selected by the elderly. Analysis of the literature. The number of elderly people in Polish society has increased by almost 3.7 million over three decades. Therefore, an important topic is prophylaxis aimed at increasing the number of days in good health, largely covering the broadly understood activation of the elderly. The available data indicate that only 12% of elderly people undertake physical activity once a week. The most common form of spending free time actively is walking (as many as 73% of people in this population declare this form of physical activity in one of the presented studies). Conclusion. Organized forms of physical activity are undertaken much less frequently by the analyzed age group mainly due to financial limitations and limited availability of sports infrastructure.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Amirul Amin Ismail ◽  
Ismail Samsuddin ◽  
Azman Zainonabidin ◽  
Harlina Mohd Ali

By the year 2030, Malaysian population will experience the after effects of the rapid growth of ageing society. This paper investigates the impact of seamless integration of horticultural activity in the new residential typology of retirement community. It is believed that horticultural therapy is not only beneficial for physical and psychological but also promotes socialisation opportunities among the elderly. Comparative analysis method on selected precedent studies has been carried out and analysed in accordance with Malaysian context. Initial findings indicate that a retirement community with horticultural activity gives therapy for healthier well-being. This therapeutic activity can be apositive change in elderly lifestyle and essential towards the establishment of retirement community in Malaysia. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 43-50
Author(s):  
Firstyono Miftahul Aziz ◽  
Suratini Suratini

For some people, dementia is considered as a disease that is common in elderly, regardless the impact of dementia. Taking care for the elderly with dementia brings stress for the family. It can cause and increase the family burden. Brain vitalization gymnastics is one of the methods to improve memory. The study aims to investigate the effect of brain vitalization activity on dementia incidence in elderly at Budi Luhur Nursing Home of Yogyakarta. The study used Quasi Experimental with Pretest-Posttest control group and randomized sampling system. The samples were taken randomly as many as 26 respondents and were divided into two groups namely 13 respondents of experimental group and 13 respondents of control group. The statistical test used Wilcoxon Match Pairs Test. The result showed that Wilcoxon Match pairs test obtained p value 0,003, which is smaller than 0,005. There is an effect of brain vitalization activity on dementia incidence in elderly at Budi Luhur Nursing Home of Yogyakarta


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Murisal Murisal

Motif and Impact of Early Marriage in Indarung Ngalau Batu Gadang.Penelitian is motivated by teenagers who married early on. Today, young men and women have a tendency to be less prepared to enter the home life, they are only ready to marry (ready here can be interpreted, maturity in terms of financial, understand what the meaning of marriage according to marriage law) is the bond of inner birth between a man and a woman as husband and wife for the purpose of forming a happy and eternal family (household) based on the Supreme Godhead while they are not ready to set up a home, whereas to build a household requires preparation both physically and spiritually . The purpose of this study to determine the motives underlying adolescents to make early marriage and the impact caused in the household as a result of the marriage.


Author(s):  
Natuya Zhuori ◽  
Yu Cai ◽  
Yan Yan ◽  
Yu Cui ◽  
Minjuan Zhao

As the trend of aging in rural China has intensified, research on the factors affecting the health of the elderly in rural areas has become a hot issue. However, the conclusions of existing studies are inconsistent and even contradictory, making it difficult to form constructive policies with practical value. To explore the reasons for the inconsistent conclusions drawn by relevant research, in this paper we constructed a meta-regression database based on 65 pieces of relevant literature published in the past 25 years. For more valid samples to reduce publication bias, we also set the statistical significance of social support to the health of the elderly in rural areas as a dependent variable. Finally, combined with multi-dimensional social support and its implications for the health of the elderly, meta-regression analysis was carried out on the results of 171 empirical studies. The results show that (1) subjective support rather than objective support can have a significant impact on the health of the elderly in rural areas, and there is no significant difference between other dimensions of social support and objective support; (2) the health status of the elderly in rural areas in samples involving western regions is more sensitive to social support than that in samples not involving the western regions; (3) among the elderly in rural areas, social support for the older male elderly is more likely to improve their health than that for the younger female elderly; and (4) besides this, both data sources and econometric models greatly affect the heterogeneity of the effect of social support on the health of the elderly in rural areas, but neither the published year nor the journal is significant. Finally, relevant policies and follow-up studies on the impact of social support on the health of the elderly in rural areas are discussed.


Author(s):  
Aisha F. Badr

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> In Saudi Arabia; it is estimated that the elderly (aged 60 and above) would reach up to (22.9%) by 2050, compared to (5.6%) in 2017. Simulation games have proven to be a useful and effective method of education in pharmacy schools, as it actively involves participants in the learning process. The objective of this study was to examine the impact of the modified geriatric medication game on community pharmacists’ awareness and attitudes toward older adults with common disabilities. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A modified geriatric medication game was adopted to stimulate both physical and sensory disabilities in older adults. A total of 9 community pharmacists were gathered in 1 room and were asked to play 2 scenarios each. Self-reflection was assessed and ground theories were analyzed. <b><i>Results:</i></b> All pharmacists felt frustration and anger playing the game (100%), followed by becoming more aware of the extra time and guidance needed with older adults and realized how disabling chronic diseases could be, and felt they needed to improve common perceived attitude towards the elderly (88.89%). Pharmacists also felt empathy, sympathy, and compassion towards this population, needed improvement of common perceived attitude towards older adults, and felt the need to double check with older adults if they have any disabilities before counseling (77.78%). Finally, over half pharmacists (55.5%) wished they had more training on geriatrics during pharmacy school and the need for further review of Beer’s criteria. All pharmacists were satisfied with the game and recommended it to all community pharmacists. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Simulation games are a great way to strengthen awareness and change practice accordingly. Pharmacists improved their awareness and attitude towards the elderly and reported a positive perceived value of this learning activity; with a 100% satisfaction rate. Adding a geriatric course with simulation component is recommended for better geriatric care.


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