Perceptions and Consequences of Social Change Among Elderly Japanese-American Workers in a Hawaii Plantation Community: A Case Example of Industrial Withdrawal

Abstract

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions and consequences associated with the closing of a sugar plantation company for a group of Japanese American plantation workers who were born and raised on the plantation. These workers were the children of Japanese immigrants who had come to Hawaii at the turn of century to plant and harvest sugar. The participants were thirty nisei (second generation) Japanese-American male residents of a rural plantation community in Hawaii. Using the techniques of participant observation, interviewing, and record research, the study explored the worker's (1) perceptions of change, (2) evaluations of perceived change, (3) stresses resulting from change, (4) coping strategies, and (5) future expectations. These subjective dimensions of change were examined across eight major areas of community life (i.e., employment, housing, community relations, community services, family life, education, physical environment, and crime). The data were analyzed to determine perceptions, evaluations, and stresses resulting from community change and to identify strategies used to cope with community change. The impact of change on resident attitudes and lifestyle patterns are discussed and summarized under three major themes: (1) communal versus individualistic lifestyles, (2) association versus dissociation of employment and the community, and (3) continuity versus discontinuity of life in the plantation.Personal comments of workers are presented to demonstrate the utility and significance of the present research approach in assessing individual experiences in response to social changes. An understanding of the impact of change on resident attitudes, beliefs, and lifestyle patterns provides the basis for devising change programs that are sensitive to the social and psychological needs of individuals affected by the changes.