Intergenerational Changes Research Articles

Portraits of Women Founders and Leaders in the North of Portugal: Do Academic Qualifications Matter in the Cultural Patterns of Family Firms?

Abstract This paper aims to discuss continuities and ruptures carried out by women in leadership in family firms (FFs). Despite female underrepresentation on top positions in firms broadly speaking, our findings gathered from the project “Roadmap for Portuguese Family Businesses” (NORTE-02-0853-FEDER-000018) reveal an ongoing transformation regarding intergenerational management succession in family firms. In fact, while it is recognizable that micro, meso and macro-structural gender barriers remain, family businesses have been the scene of intergenerational changes with a notable presence of women in management and corporate responsibility careers. To what extent have female founders and successors expressed significant changes in the cultural patterns of family businesses, especially when they have high academic qualifications and professional experience? To answer this research question, nine in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with business women/ managers of family businesses regarding their career experiences compared with those of male counterparts. This paper finds that the “masculinist” perspective is shifting due to the crucial role of the qualifications and professional competence of family firms’ female founders and leaders. Likewise, the increase in the academic level of women in today's society is one of the factors that is at the root of the emergence of shifting in the cultural patterns of family businesses with impact in the intergenerational succession. (JEL: L2)

Students’ identity development in Greek supplementary schools in England from 1950s to 2010s

ABSTRACT This paper aims to examine how students in Greek supplementary schools in England develop their identities within a period of structural and inter-generational change in the Greek community due to the recent migration waves from Greece and Cyprus to the UK. This is undertaken with a review of sociological theories and studies around identity construction, complemented by data drawn from the quantitative and qualitative phases of the research, under the prism of critical realism philosophy. The paper examines and discusses how archetypal notions of culture and ethnicity influence pedagogic practices and students’ identity development. The findings call for a revisiting of policies, curricula and pedagogical practices in Greek supplementary education, in order to allow students to negotiate their identities within a period of extensive migration waves and a constantly changing context.

Secular Changes in the Age of Menarche of Rural and Urban Girls from an Industrial Region of Poland in Relation to Family Structure.

Purpose: The consequence of better living conditions for every subsequent generation is the phenomenon of change in the rate of maturation and body dimensions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the intergenerational changes in the age of menarche of girls living in rural and urban communities in the industrial region of Poland using samples from two different centuries and to determine the relationship between family structure (two-parent and single-parent) and sexual maturation of the girls in both environments. Methods: The study included 3643 rural and urban girls aged 7–16 from southwestern Poland (Copper Basin). The research was cross-sectional in each environment around 2000 and 2010, and it was carried out twice. Two types of family structure were taken into account: two-parent and single-parent families. The median age of menarche and odds ratio (OR) of menarche depending on the place of residence and family structure were calculated. The status quo method was used when assessing the age of menarche. Results: In both groups, the age of menarche significantly decreased during the decade. The median age of menarche in the urban girls was lower compared with their rural peers, but a significant difference was found only during the second examination (a decade after the first examination). There were no significant changes in menarche during the decade regarding family structure (neither in girls from two-parent families nor those from single-parent families), except in rural girls from two-parent families. Comparing the median age of menarche of girls from two-parent families with girls from single-parent families (urban and rural) showed lower median values in the girls from two-parent families, but no differences were significant. Conclusions: The acceleration of the maturation rate over the last decade has been observed among both rural and urban girls. Environmental differences in maturation rates between rural and urban girls increased over the course of the decade, and the difference between the rural and urban girls’ age of menarche was statistically significant in the second examination (around 2010).The living conditions related to family structure did not significantly affect the timing of menarche.

How status‐group power differentials shape age discrimination within U.S. federal agencies: Evidence from EEOC formal complaint filings, 2010–2019

AbstractAge discrimination is a systemic problem of the American administrative state that undermines both the caliber and performance of the U.S. federal government workforce. A theory is proposed, anchored on discrimination against age‐eligible employees (age 40 and over) representing a social identity group, to explain how status‐group power differentials between supervisors and non‐supervisors within U.S. federal agencies explain the organizational incidence of formal discrimination complaints. The theory predicts that the incidence of age discrimination formal complaints is declining in the share of supervisory personnel who are discrimination age‐eligible while increasing in the share of non‐supervisory personnel members who belong to this group. Evidence is obtained for these hypotheses using objective data on Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's age discrimination formal complaints about an unbalanced panel of 130 U.S. federal agencies between 2010 and 2019. The empirical evidence underscores the structural challenges to combatting ageism within the U.S. federal government workforce during an era of an intergenerational personnel change.

Influence of Maternal Diet and Intergenerational Change in Diet Type on Ovarian and Adipose Tissue Morphology in Female Rat Offspring.

Background and Objectives: A high-fat diet causes inflammation in the organism and many metabolic disorders. Adipose tissue secretes adipokines that affect the function of many organs. The health status of the mother before and during pregnancy affects the health of the offspring. The aim of this study was to determine how the type of maternal diet and the change in the type of diet in the offspring affects the histological characteristics of the ovaries and subcutaneous and perigonadal adipose tissue in female rat offspring. Materials and Methods: Ten female rats were divided into two groups. One group was fed standard laboratory chow, and the other was fed a high-fat diet and mated with a male of the same breed. The offspring of both groups of dams were divided into four subgroups with different feeding protocols. At 22 weeks of age, the offspring were sacrificed. Ovaries and subcutaneous and perigonadal adipose tissue were isolated. In the ovaries, the presence of cystic formations was investigated. Histomorphometric analysis was performed in two types of adipose tissue. Results: The weight of the ovaries of the offspring of mothers fed a high-fat diet was significantly higher than that of the offspring of mothers fed standard laboratory diets. Cystic formations were found in the ovaries of the offspring of mothers fed a high-fat diet. In subcutaneous adipose tissue, the percentage of small-sized adipocytes was significantly higher in the offspring of mothers fed standard laboratory diets. There were no significant differences in adipocyte surface area and adipocyte number between groups. Conclusion: Maternal diet influences the morphology of the ovaries and adipose tissue of the offspring.

Phonetic transfer in Diné Bizaad (Navajo)

Abstract Research on bilingual populations finds that phonetic transfer between languages is common, especially in similar sounds. Yet, phonetic studies that include bilingual speakers of Indigenous languages remain rare. This paper analyzes phonetic transfer in Diné Bizaad (Navajo), a Dene language indigenous to North America. Specifically, I examine the evidence for intergenerational change and convergence with English in the release period durations of Diné affricated stops [kx, tx]. The analysis is based on tokens of Diné [kx, tx] and English [kh, th] extracted from recent interviews with 51 Diné-English bilinguals. Release durations of targeted sounds are measured, compared with earlier analogous measurements, and statistically analyzed to assess age effects. Participants, especially younger speakers, are predicted to produce Diné [kx, tx] with shorter releases than earlier measurements, and with releases that align more with similar English sounds. Data confirm that speakers pronounce Diné [kx], but not [tx], with shorter durations; younger participants also produce [kx] with the shortest releases, and with durations closest to English [kh]. Results suggest that perceptual similarity between velar sounds leads to phonetic convergence, but alveolar sounds are sufficiently distinct to prevent transfer. Together, findings attest to the relevance of minority language contexts to theories of bilingual phonology.

An examination of the dynamics of intergenerational tensions and technological change in the context of post-pandemic recovery

Technological change is a feature of contemporary life encompassing interactivity, collaboration and, above all, real-time content sharing and live streaming. The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new dynamics in relation to digitisation and technology usage. Within organisations, these changes have been swift and profound, leading to online meetings, events and virtual team management. An explosion of literature has accompanied these changes and their human impacts. However, the generational and intergenerational issues remain under-examined and therefore constitute an important gap. The paper examines the literature on workplace technology, digitalisation and human impacts in relation to the COVID-19, and particularly, through the lens of different generational adoptive patterns. Taking an inductive qualitative approach, the paper’s empirical focus is analyses of semi-structured questionnaire data from intergenerational senior executives. The findings showcase alternative understandings of technology in the late-COVID-19 era and of Xer generational (i.e. born 1961–1981) resilience and operational change dynamics. This allows a number of contributions and implications to be developed.

“How dare you!” When an ecological crisis is impacted by an educational crisis: Temporal insights via Arendt

In this paper we take as our starting point Greta Thunberg’s message to an audience of adults at a recent climate change summit: ‘This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you!’ We take Thunberg at her word and endeavour to investigate what is wrong and how it might be wrong. Through this investigation we consider how education may be implicated in the problem to which Thunberg alludes: a problem about both climate change and intergenerational change. We draw upon Hannah Arendt’s seminal work, ‘A Crisis in Education’, to consider how an ecological crisis coincides with an educational crisis symptomatic of an inversion of the traditional adult and child relationship in which education serves to introduce the young to the world – a public world, which is distinct from the ecological world. Arendt’s position on education, we argue, reveals concerns that movements like School Strike for Climate expose young people prematurely to the risks of indoctrination that attend adult, public life, and hinders their renewal of the world. Science too may add to these risks.

Regression to the mean in latent change score models: an example involving breastfeeding and intelligence

BackgroundLatent change score models are often used to study change over time in observational data. However, latent change score models may be susceptible to regression to the mean. Earlier observational studies have identified a positive association between breastfeeding and child intelligence, even when adjusting for maternal intelligence.MethodIn the present study, we investigate regression to the mean in the case of breastfeeding and intelligence of children. We used latent change score modeling to analyze intergenerational change in intelligence, both from mothers to children and backward from children to mothers, in the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) dataset (N = 6283).ResultsWhen analyzing change from mothers to children, breastfeeding was found to have a positive association with intergenerational change in intelligence, whereas when analyzing backward change from children to mothers, a negative association was found.ConclusionsThese discrepant findings highlight a hidden flexibility in the analytical space and call into question the reliability of earlier studies of breastfeeding and intelligence using observational data.

Political Socialization in a Changing Society: A Crisis of Value Orientations or Asynchronization of National Memories?

The article examines qualitative changes in the socio-cultural parameters of intergenerational communication that impact social cohesion and civic identification in contemporary society. Diversification of symbol production and an increase in the number of agents of political communications, a greater heterogeneity of political ideologies, and modes of political representation shape political processes. To adequately address these changes, one needs new theoretical models of political socialization. Such models would examine youth political incorporation as a particular form of communication predicated on the spatial and temporal design of political events within national communities. The focus on generational differences in the interpretation of political events helps explain youth positioning vis-à-vis older generations. In this case, political socialization goes beyond the processes of the younger generation’s adaptation to institutions and value-normative regimes of the “adult” society. It is a communicative process of establishing generational political expectations. Analysis of the legitimating profiles of national memory—those that include competing symbolic representations of images of the future and the past, typologies of the heroic, concepts of guilt and responsibility—is crucial to studying the political socialization of the younger generation. The authors emphasize the significance of both a theoretical and applied analysis of symbolic structures of political memory and the role of iconic power in understanding intergenerational continuity and change. Drawing on the methods of cultural sociology, the authors outline novel theoretical approaches to studying youth political socialization in today’s society.

Explaining confidence in the police within transitional Hong Kong: the influence of postmaterial values

ABSTRACT The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) has a tradition for being among the most respected national police organisations globally. More recent political events in Hong Kong have however placed the HKPF in highly visible public order situations. A wide array of political factions have emerged as a consequence of the handover of control in Hong Kong, many of which have involved young people protesting the curtailment of democratic rights. In this paper, we utilise Wave 7 of the World Values Survey (n = 2075). We utilise Inglehart’s (1971. The silent revolution in Europe: intergenerational change in post-industrial societies. American political science review, 65 (4), 991–1017) concept of postmaterialism to examine how far young people’s more negative attitudes to the police can be underpinned by cohort-based (or generational) explanations. Our findings identify associations between postmaterialist values and lower confidence in the police. Those that favoured stricter immigration controls, experienced higher fear of crime, perceived drug selling in their area, and consumed certain types of media (notably television and new media) were also less likely to have confidence in the HKPF.

Postmaterial values and career aspirations in tourism: Generation‐Y tourism professionals in Hong Kong

AbstractRecent political movements in Hong Kong suggest a postmaterial value shift in the younger generation, from pursuing material affluence to a greater concern for autonomy, self‐expression, and quality of life. This study examined the values and career aspirations of Generation‐Y tourism professionals through postmaterialism and intergenerational value change. In‐depth interviews revealed differences in the views of older and younger Gen‐Y and three types of career aspirations: Corporate job, Entrepreneurship, and “Slash” careers. Findings demonstrated the material/postmaterial shifts from teenage to mid‐adulthood, and how values were shaped by: student versus working life, tourism work experience, social changes, and specific social events.

Generations and Shifting Sexual Identifications among Flemish Non-Straight Men

ABSTRACT This paper explores age-related differences in non-straight identities, using the concept of “generations” to investigate shared contexts and experiences contributing to processes of sexual identification. The process of identity construction is focused upon, existing research noting a shifting attitude toward identity categories among the youngest generations. Using a mixed-method design, first an exploratory survey of 684 Flemish men was used to determine shifting sexual identifications, which were indeed found among the youngest generation. These insights serve as a background for the analysis of 80 in-depth interviews with non-straight men across four generations: Baby Boomers, Generations X, Millennials and Generation Z. These generational divisions serve as a heuristic to explore shared generational experiences and contexts as well as intergenerational changes in relation to four key moments and themes: first realizations and explorations of same-sex sexuality; sexual identification; coming out; and involvement in the LGBTQ community. The results show clear and positive evolutions across the generations on all accounts, albeit with a lot of variation within generations as well as gradual changes between them. While useful as a heuristic, the notion of generations should be used with caution, as it allows to identify macro level shifts but hides micro level variations.

Brazil's Bolsa Família Programme: Aspirations and Realities of Poverty Reduction and Intergenerational Change

ABSTRACTThis article considers the transformative potential of conditional cash transfers to address intergenerational poverty. Drawing on empirical evidence collected through qualitative research in the northeast of Brazil, it traces notions of intergenerational change and continuity amongst young recipients of the Bolsa Família programme (BFP) and their families. It argues that the BFP has contributed to raising expectations and aspirations of social mobility, through a policy narrative that explicitly links education to poverty reduction alongside some relatively limited but nonetheless significant intergenerational changes in material conditions and access to education. However, rising aspirations have not been matched by a concomitant expansion of opportunities available to poor young people in education and the labour market. The article thus highlights the contradictions that arise between policy narratives, the aspirations these narratives engender, and the realities of young people's everyday lives.

Immigrant generation and religiosity: a study of Christian immigrant groups in 33 European countries

ABSTRACT Although Christian migrant groups make up a sizeable part of the immigrant population in Europe, little is known about their religiosity. This paper studies patterns of intergenerational change and proposes and tests hypotheses that specify when and why changes across generations are stronger. Using data from the European Social Survey (2002–2018) on 33 European countries, it is found that there is a strong pattern of intergenerational decline in the level of religiosity among Christian migrant groups in Europe. This process of religious decline is by no means universal. Results show that children from two foreign-born parents are much more religious than children from intermarried (foreign-born and native) couples. We also observe that intergenerational decline is much less pronounced in European countries that are more religious. Finally, when Christian migrant groups belong to a religious minority group, this is associated with higher levels of religiosity in both the first and second generation. It is argued that these insights can explain the ‘puzzling’ strong intergenerational religious transmission among Muslim migrant groups in Western European societies.

Climate change: Will the parties unite or divide?

Climate change: Will the parties unite or divide?

Intergenerational changes in Gurindji Kriol

AbstractThis paper explores intergenerational changes in Gurindji Kriol, in order to determine whether differences between adults and children are the result of an abrupt generational shift or an extended acquisition process. We analyse the production of Gurindji in the speech of five age groups of Gurindji Kriol speakers, using a set of 176 picture-prompt narratives from 70 different speakers. The data is analysed both synchronically (in apparent-time) and diachronically (in real-time). The synchronic snapshot of the data reveals that adults use significantly more Gurindji than children which can be interpreted as a generational shift towards Kriol. Nonetheless the real-time data shows that most children increase their use of Gurindji as they age which suggests an extended acquisition of Gurindji. Although contradictory on the surface, this study argues that these processes are occurring in tandem, with the extended acquisition of Gurindji by children slowing down the intergenerational shift towards Kriol.

Parenting for Environmental Change

How do parents understand and navigate green living challenges? Parents harness a set of meanings (consciousness, connectedness, and wellbeing) to socialize their children into sustainable ways of living. Innovatively drawing on these meanings in their daily practices, parents overcome short-term challenges to bring about long-term intergenerational change.

Identity and transnationalism: Narrating the Haitian - American home in selected works by Edwidge Danticat

In contemporary discourses, the lives of migrants are often marginalised and silenced. For this reason, bringing the theme of migrants’ identities to the foreground in literary research appears to be increasingly important. This article discusses the experiences of Haitian immigrants to the US as nar-rated by the Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat. I explore the theme of making a transnational home in her novel Breath, Eyes, Memory (1994) and short stories from the collection Everything Inside(2019). The analysis is based on a combination of two theories: Steven Vertovec’s theory of transnation-alism and Paul Ricoeur’s philosophy of narrative identity, which enable interpreting intergenerational identity changes, certain methods of cultural reproduction, and “little” cultural cross-connectedness of “family and household” (Vertovec 2009: 3-18) in the context of personal identity understood as formed through narratives. This article focuses on the transition from a Haitian home to an American one as an important part of identity-formation processes. It also views a migrant’s journey as still incomplete after coming to the US and requiring “emplotting” (De Fina 2003: 17) its fragmented events into stories. The article attempts to demonstrate intangible ways of creating a transnational home and domestic methods of narrating and negotiating one’s cultural identity in Danticat’s fiction. I claim that Danticat’s works narrate personal experiences to generate a “refigured” understanding of time and transnational ties within the family sphere.

Exposure to maternal hyperglycemia and high-fat diet consumption after weaning in rats: repercussions on periovarian adipose tissue.

Clinical and epidemiological studies show that maternal hyperglycemia can change the programming of offspring leading to transgenerational effects. These changes may be related to environmental factors, such as high-fat diet (HFD) consumption, and contribute to the comorbidity onset at the adulthood of the offspring. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hyperglycemic intrauterine environment, associated or not with an HFD administered from weaning to adult life on the periovarian adipose tissue of rat offspring Maternal diabetes was chemically induced by Streptozotocin. Female offsprings were randomly distributed into four experimental groups (n = 5 animals/group): Female offspring from control or diabetic mothers and fed an HFD or standard diet. HFD was prepared with lard enrichment and given from weaning to adulthood. On day 120 of life, the rats were anesthetized and sacrificed to obtain adipose tissue samples. Then, the hyperglycemic intrauterine environment and HFD fed after weaning caused a higher body weight, total fat, and periovarian fat in adult offspring, which could compromise the future reproductive function of these females. These rats showed higher adiposity index and adipocyte area, contributing to hypertrophied adipose tissue. Therefore, maternal diabetes itself causes intergenerational changes and, in association with the HFD consumption after weaning, exacerbated the changes in the adipose tissue of adult female offspring.