Suchergebnisse

Der Autor vergleicht auf der Grundlage von Forschungsmaterial aus einer Studie in einem Dorf der südlichen Küstenregion von Sri Lanka zwei Formen von Widerstand. Indem die zwei Gegenpole von Klasse und Geschlecht analysiert werden, wird ein Konzept zur Überwindung des vorhandenen Zwiespalts zwischen echtem Widerstand und gelegentlichen Aktivitäten entwickelt. Dadurch werden auch versteckte oder subtile Formen von Widerstand offenbar. Während die Kategorie Klasse mehr Legitimierung in der dörflichen Gesellschaft erfährt, kann die Artikulation von Geschlecht als Handlungsbegriff nur durch Intervention von außerhalb in Form von lokalen Unterstützungsorganisationen gestärkt werden. (ICBÜbers)

Based on an ethnological study of a village on the south coast of Sri Lanka conducted 1977-1979, plus ongoing observations over the last 15 years, compared are 2 forms of social/political resistance: class & gender. The conditions under which one form becomes more powerful than the other are sketched in terms of a continuum framework, representing an evolution from latent to open action, & resolving the dichotomy between real resistance & incidental/token activity. Recent history of rural society in this nation is also outlined, followed by an account of concrete struggles undertaken during the Sinhalese JVP uprising & the ensuing brutal military suppression. It is proposed that while resistance based on class inequality has more legitimacy within the village setting, outside intervention from a support organization can significantly influence opposition to gender inequities. 33 References. Adapted from the source document.

Participant observation data are used to describe the efforts of a development worker to organize Sri Lankan women (N not given) active in cottage industries using by-products from coconuts. Special attention is given to the difficult role of the investigator/organizer & to the incomprehensibility of the women's hesitation to stand up for their rights. Although after many setbacks the women managed to organize a viable production unit, it remains to be seen whether their enterprise will survive. The workers face opposition in their own village & country, as well as stiff international competition. Modified HA

The author describes and analyses the changes in the position of Sinhalese women in Sri Lanka during the subsequent periods of colonial domination and briefly compares these changes with the processes already taking place before colonization. In particular she attempts to place the implementation of the new marriage and inheritance laws in relation to the changes the economy was undergoing at large, with special attention to the new forms of land tenure and access to land. (DSE)

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to, within the specific Sri Lankan figures on ageing within South Asia (comparatively high longevity and high figures on intergenerational family‐living), look into the interpretations of social care and everyday social life in urban elder homes in Colombo. What does everyday social life look like and how are underlying meanings of care given shape? To highlight the taken for granted quality of much of everyday care, comparisons are made on the basis of earlier ethnographic research by Indian scholars on Dutch senior homes.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology relied on analysis of existing quantitative data on ageing in Sri Lanka and on research generated by the four‐year team‐study of which the author was part. Specific data in this article were collected through qualitative research by the author: regular visiting and participating in activities within certain selected homes in Colombo, over a period of four months. In addition survey data were collected on 55 senior homes in Colombo.FindingsAgainst a background of available statistical data on ageing; family and institutional care, qualitative research findings are provided on everyday life within the Colombo homes, Sri Lanka. What kind of care ("Araksha kerime") is given and/or aimed for? The concept of "social care" (Daly and Lewis) is the starting point to understand how normative and social frameworks within which "care" is understood and undertaken. Cross cultural comparison with every‐day life in Dutch senior homes articulates the impact of taken for granted socio‐cultural similarities and differences embedded in the concept of "senior home" and its everyday life.Research limitations/implicationsThe four year research project by three main researchers (of which the author was one) resulted in a substantial data base and several publications. This specific qualitative section of research is based in an additional period of four months of regular visiting of five selected Colombo elder homes. Survey data were collected on another 55 senior homes.Social implicationsThe points made in the paper could be constructively discussed cross culturally and contribute to a debate on the taken for granted underlying socio‐cultural meanings within which universal definitions of – in this case – care within senior homes is pursued cross culturally. Money does not always make all the difference.Originality/valueThe article attempts to combine data from different disciplines and compare different socio‐cultural settings for old‐age care. This can shed a different light on the taken‐for‐granted elements in the shaping the social life in senior homes. For example, it becomes clear why the causes of loneliness and isolation among elders in a certain setting seem so "natural" within and so strange from beyond.

The concept of friendship is more easily valued than it is described: this volume brings together reflections on its meaning and practice in a variety of social and cultural settings in history and in the present time, focusing on Asia and the Western, Euro-American world. The extension of the group in which friendship is recognized, and degrees of intimacy (whether or not involving an erotic dimension) and genuine appreciation may vary widely. Friendship may simply include kinship bonds-solidarity being one of its more general characteristics. In various contexts of travelling, migration, and a dearth of offspring, friendship may take over roles of kinship, also in terms of care.