Grandmothers are known to increase the health and well-being of their grandchildren in many different populations. However, grandmothers may vary in their contributions based on their relatedness to their grandchildren. In some populations, maternal grandmothers decrease the risk of mortality and increase the health of their grandchildren more than paternal grandmothers. Grandmaternal influence also sometimes varies based on the gender of the grandchild. The behavioral mechanisms of grandmaternal investment are not well understood and have not been explored in the heavily intergenerational context of Eastern Europe. This study examines the behavioral variation of sixty-two Ukrainian grandmothers through interviews and a semi-structured questionnaire. I test whether maternal and paternal grandmothers differ in face-to-face contact with their grandchildren and whether the gender of the grandchild influences the frequency of face-to-face contact. Additionally, I examine qualitative responses from grandmothers on various aspects of childcare to determine whether maternal and paternal grandmothers have different childcare strategies and experience grandmotherhood in different ways. I found that maternal grandmothers have significantly more face-to-face time with their grandchildren (173.8 days out of the year as compared to 87.5 for paternal grandmothers, p

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Background: Aboriginal peoples face disproportionate health inequalities in comparison to non-Aboriginal Canadians, especially in regards to cardiovascular disease risk factors. Evidence illustrates that the propensity to develop these chronic diseases happens during the perinatal period. Related to this are maternal health behaviours—which are influenced by grandmothers’ advice. Very few studies have explored Aboriginal grandmothers’ beliefs around perinatal health or how they translate into maternal health behaviours. Objectives: The objectives of this thesis were to: 1) Qualitatively explore the beliefs and cultural perceptions around prenatal and postnatal health behaviours from the accounts of Grandmothers from the Six Nations reserve; 2) Incorporate the emergent themes to develop a theoretical framework; 3) Design and apply culturally-respectful avenues for knowledge translation. Methods: Qualitative, semi-structured individual interviews and focus groups were conducted with grandmothers from the Six Nations reserve. Sampling of participants used non-probabilistic methods. Recruitment was achieved through the leadership of community members and continued until saturation. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and underwent thematic analysis. A Six Nations community member was involved with the coding process and additional interviews were conducted to ensure member-checking. Results: Six Nations grandmothers identified three primary perinatal beliefs: 1) Pregnancy is a natural phase of the life course that is not an illness nor a “comfort zone”; 2) Pregnancy is a sacred period where balance is key; 3) Optimal perinatal health is achieved through immunity, security, comfort, social development, and parental responsibility. This knowledge is shared via storytelling and observational teaching. In addition, the grandmothers identified local community responsibilities required to uphold optimal health. Consultation with the community resulted in an integrated knowledge translation component (short film) for key stakeholders. Conclusion: Building resilience and strength through culturally-generated interventions will guide the future of community-based programs and policies that aim to reduce cardiometabolic risk factors in this Aboriginal community. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

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African pensioner grandmothers and their teenage granddaughters constitute a vulnerable sector in our communities. Despite financial constraints these grandmothers struggle against great odds to provide a better life for their granddaughters. In such households, granddaughters are exposed to socialization strategies that are devised to cope with limitations. These strategies impact on the way they construct notions of gender and sexuality. Using qualitative research methodology to investigate the responses to interviews and questionnaires of a selected group of five female teenage learners and their grandmothers at a secondary school in Northdale, Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, I discuss how these learners and their principal carers construct gender and sexuality. I make use of postmodern principles to analyse the impact of changing household patterns and coping strategies on these young women. I discuss the gendered division of labour, their 'perceived' notions about femininity and masculinity and bodies. I focus especially on how grandmothers use their own construction of gender and sexuality in influencing their granddaughters by what they say and also by what they do not say. In this investigation, I include Western theorizing and traditional African teachings about gender construction and sexuality. This study demonstrates that gender is not innate but fluid and that constructions of sexuality can create docile 'feminine' bodies. However, there are indications that these young women are resisting the constructs of their grandmothers to create new discourses of their own. Female agency is a mechanism that can be utilized to generate new subjectivities. / Thesis (M.A.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

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In this thesis ethnotheories on the expression of emotional warmth towards babies were studied, considering socio-economic and cultural factors. It was proposed that the more relatedness is emphasized as a socialization goal the more emphasis is also put on the expression of emotional warmth. Furthermore, the modality, in which emotional warmth is perceived to be ideally expressed, was expected to be related to the extent the participants want to foster autonomy. Autonomy-fostering caregivers were expected to stress distal modes of expressing emotional warmth more, than less autonomy-fostering caregivers. These two hypotheses were tested with mothers (and grandmothers) of three-month-old children from Germany, USA, urban and rural India. The hypotheses were predominantly confirmed, though some methodological issues are reasons for concern. The applicability of the (Western) psychological theories on the expression of emotional warmth towards infants perceived by Indian caregivers was explored. The Indian caregivers ethnotheories matched the psychological theories fairly well. However, other concepts were also mentioned frequently. Therefore open-ended methods were used to study the indigenous concept of the Evil Eye . Some rural Indian mothers considered looking at the baby while breastfeeding, or praising the baby as a potential danger. Finally, the different caregivers roles as perceived by urban Indian mothers and rural Indian mothers and grandmothers were explored. The mother was seen as the most important caregiver for the expression of warmth towards an infant, though rural and urban caregivers disagreed about the reasons for her being special. Other (unspecified) family members were mentioned frequently. Fathers were perceived in different roles by urban and rural mothers, though they agreed on them being providers of vocal or verbal stimulation for the child. The mothers regarded the grandmothers as a source of advice and support in child-rearing matters.

Chapter 1 introduces the study by means of its aim, scope, methodology and terminology. It also hosts summaries of all the folktales that are analysed in this study. Chapter 2 is a study of parenthood and its portrayal in Zulu folktales. Motherhood and fatherhood will be scrutinised separately. Chapter 3 concentrates on girl characters as siblings, brides and companions to old men. Chapter 4 analyses boy characters as herd boys, villains, tricksters and companions to old women. Chapter 5 concentrates on the status of the Zulu folktale. The influence of urbanisation, gender, and the media will receive attention. The lessons that folktales teach will be noted. Chapter 6 concludes and summarises this study and hosts recommendations on the promotion of Zulu folktales / African Languages / M.A. (African Languages)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-29T13:31:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maria Eduarda Abrantes Torres.pdf: 1501018 bytes, checksum: 397e2b5370f04c0f694f661de541d4b2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-05-06 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / This study aims to describe and interpret general discourse of grandmothers on babies education and care. It integrates the Center for Research on Gender, Race and Age (NEGRI), of the Social Psychology Postgraduate Study Program of the Pontifícia Universidade Católica of São Paulo, coordinated by Professor Fúlvia Rosemberg, who has been studying the process of social construction of childhood in Brazil. Inserted in the research group that investigates speeches by contemporary social actors about the baby, its education and care, this dissertation seeks to collaborate with the construction of a conception of care and education for babies including the right to quality child care education for children from 0-3 years old. For this purpose, we have questioned the construction of the public policy agenda for the Brazilian contemporary childhood, including the subordinate position proposed for early childhood educational policies. We have adopted the theoretical contributions of Social Studies of Childhood, which consider this stage a social and historical construction and the child a social actor, that is, also a producer of culture; the studies on the construction of social problems have allowed us to denaturalize the idea that the social policy agenda would be a translation of the objective social needs. The method adopted was depth hermeneutics (HP). We interviewed four grandmothers with higher level of education, living in the city of Recife and belonging to the middle class urban population, who have grandchildren aged 0-3 years old. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis techniques based on Bardin and Rosemberg. In general, we apprehended that the grandmothers have few concrete experiences or current information about the daycare and public policies for the baby, however, are aware of the lack of vacancies in daycare centers. Although, in most cases, the interviewees stated that they had already thought about the baby s right to a daycare center, they apparently do not understand it as a right for all babies, including their own grandchildren, but only for those who need, for people of disadvantaged social classes. We note that for the grandmothers interviewed, the mother, in the private space of her own home, would be the best option for baby care and education until it enters school. Grandmothers would be the second best option, being a protagonist or just a supervisor of a reliable nanny/maid, third most cited choice of education and care. The daycare center appeared as a last resort for cases where mothers have to work and do not have someone reliable to leave their children with / Esta pesquisa tem como objetivo geral descrever e interpretar discursos de mulheres-avós sobre a educação e o cuidado de bebês. A investigação se insere na linha de Pesquisa do NEGRI - Núcleo de Estudos de Gênero, Raça e Idade da Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo PUC-SP, coordenado pela professora doutora Fúlvia Rosemberg, que vem estudando o processo de construção social da infância no Brasil. Inserida no grupo de pesquisas que investiga discursos proferidos por atores sociais contemporâneos sobre o bebê, sua educação e cuidado, esta dissertação busca colaborar com a construção de uma concepção de cuidado e educação de bebês que inclui a creche de qualidade como direito das crianças de 0-3 anos. Para tanto temos problematizado a construção da agenda de políticas públicas para a infância brasileira contemporânea, nomeadamente a posição subalterna destinada à pequena infância nas políticas educacionais. Adotamos os aportes teóricos dos Estudos Sociais da Infância, que consideram essa fase uma construção social e histórica e a criança um ator social, isto é, também produtor de cultura; dos estudos sobre a construção de problemas sociais, que têm permitido desnaturalizar a concepção de que a agenda de políticas sociais seria tradução de necessidades sociais objetivas. O método adotado foi hermenêutica de profundidade (HP). Foram entrevistadas quatro mulheres-avós com nível superior de escolaridade, residentes na cidade do Recife e pertencentes às camadas médias urbanas da população, que possuem neto(a)(s) na faixa etária de 0 a 3 anos de idade. As entrevistas foram transcritas e analisadas utilizando técnicas de análise de conteúdo baseadas em Bardin e Rosemberg. De uma maneira geral, apreendemos que as avós dispõem de poucas experiências concretas ou informações atuais sobre a creche e as políticas públicas para o bebê, entretanto, estão conscientes que faltam vagas nas creches públicas. Apesar de, em sua maioria, as entrevistadas terem afirmado que já haviam pensado sobre o direito do bebê à creche, aparentemente não o compreendem como um direito para todos os bebês, inclusive seus próprios netos, mas apenas para aqueles que necessitam, para pessoas de camadas menos favorecidas. Destacamos que para as avós entrevistadas, a mãe, no espaço privado de sua própria casa, seria a melhor opção de cuidado e educação do bebê até o ingresso na escola. A avó seria a segunda melhor opção, sendo protagonista ou apenas supervisora de uma babá/empregada doméstica de confiança, terceira opção de educação e cuidado mais citada. A creche apareceu como última alternativa, para os casos em que as mães precisem trabalhar e não tenham alguém de confiança com quem deixar seus filhos

The purpose of this participatory action research study was to gain an awareness of the meanings of health for urban First Nations grandmothers, and how they promote it in their families and communities. Active participation of 7 urban First Nations grandmothers in the research process involved 4 group and 1 individual interview. Meanings of health included maintaining balance in all areas of life; physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Control imposed through the residential schools resulted in secrets kept, yet the survival and resiliency of the grandmothers were identified as part of being healthy. Personal health was linked with the health of their families and communities, and an awareness of living in two cultures vital in the intergenerational transmission of knowledge. Relationships with grandchildren were catalysts for change, and the grandmothers described working to “turn it around” throughout their challenges in health and life, as one strategy for health promotion. / ix, 146 leaves ; 29 cm