Life History Method Research Articles

Gender Roles in Cotton Production and Management of Related Organizations in Benin

Women’s productive roles have generated important debates, heuristic as well as practical, in the scientific and development community. In Benin, women farmers are playing a key role, particularly in agriculture and cotton production, where they are involved throughout the production process. However, only a handful of them are involved in the management of farmer organizations. This article aims to identify factors that constrain or enable women’s representation in the management of cotton organizations. It uses survey data and the life history method to meet its objectives. The life history method was applied to two women leaders who are exceptions to the rule, to document their experience as board members of organizations. Both were cajoled into their positions, and then ousted unceremoniously. The results suggest that gender myths and stereotypes still determine the involvement of women in managing organizations. And the male motive in involving women in management continues to remain questionable.

SME owner-managers as key drivers of corporate social responsibility in Uganda

This paper investigates how owner–managers of small and medium–sized enterprises (SMEs) influence the manifestations of socially and environmentally responsible practices in SMEs in Uganda. Using a case–study methodology, data were collected from 30 Ugandan SMEs across various sectors. The life–history method was used to collect data over three phases using semi–structured interviews in the form of life stories with participating SME owner–managers. CSR activities in SMEs are a clear reflection of the specific owners' beliefs, desires or experiences that drive their engagement in CSR. The study ultimately reveals that understanding the individual at the heart of the SME is the basis for understanding the firm's CSR direction. The findings give a Sub–Saharan African perspective of CSR in SMEs that should be of interest to academics and practitioners working in and around the area. Further research assessing whether CSR in SMEs contributes towards development is necessary - especially from a developing–country perspective.

Across the little divide? Life histories of public and third sector “boundary crossers”

PurposeOrganizational life and policy making is increasingly conceived in terms of a “three sector” model – public, private and “third”. The purpose of this research paper is to examine a little‐studied phenomenon that increasingly characterises societies in both the “developed” and the “developing” worlds. It aims to argue that these “sectors” have permeable boundaries, and that increasing numbers of activists and professionals operate across such boundaries, with important implications for policy and work.Design/methodology/approachThe research paper reports on a set of new ethnographic life‐work history data from the UK, Bangladesh and Philippines to explore experiences of people who cross between, or straddle, the third sector and the public sector.FindingsThe paper constructs a preliminary typology of boundary crosser archetypes for purposes of further analysis. This is based on motivations and levels of boundary crossing. Boundary crossing of this kind is linked with the concept of “work role transition”, and with the micro‐politics of policy contention.Practical implicationsThe paper concludes by suggesting that such work may offer new practical insights into strengthening the capacity of both third sector and government agencies.Originality/valueThe paper aims to be original in opening up this new topic for further discussion (and in particular problematizing the idea of sector boundaries), and through using the life history method to as part of organisational ethnography.

Compulsive Working, ‘Hyperprofessionality’ and the Unseen Pleasures of Academic Work

AbstractThe paper applies Hoyle's notion of ‘extended’ professionality to modern higher education working. It begins with some of the policy contexts and theoretical perspectives around the structural and professional change experienced by academic staff: changes that have been documented in systematic studies of university life from the 1970s onwards. However, the realisation for academic staff that, at 45 per cent of the workforce, they were no longer the majority group in the sector, has added impetus to debates about work, the workplace and the role of change in scholarly life (Gornall, 2009). The Working Lives team has been gathering qualitative data on academic experiences of everyday work between 2007 and 2010, using life history and ethnographic methods. This paper draws on in‐depth interviews with 24 academics and participants in four focus groups, to consider the propensity in an ‘always‐on’ environment for staff to rarely ‘switch off’. This is explored alongside a set of ‘emic’ notions of working practices and places that characterise the ‘hyperprofessional’ academic.

Sisterhood and After: Individualism, Ethics and an Oral History of the Women's Liberation Movement

In this article, we address the question of ethics in the study of social movements from the perspective of ‘Sisterhood and After: The Women's Liberation Oral History Project’, which will record life history interviews of 50 key activists in the UK for the British Library Sound Archive. Our research is inspired by the democratic ideals of oral historical methods and of feminism itself, yet we have discovered tensions concerning the status of individual experience and the practicalities of selection and method. Turning to other feminist scholars of women's movements we identify four broad justifications for focusing on the individual: a political understanding of the personal; situated knowledge; an investment in interview relationships and a psycho-social framework of analysis. Testing these justifications against some of the oral histories we have gathered, we conclude that they go a long way to answering the paradox of studying a movement through a few individuals' stories. But we are frank about the ethical and intellectual limits that a life history method imposes on capturing social movements. Examples from interviews with Mia Morris, Beatrix Campbell, Lesley Abdela, Ellen Malos and Juliet Mitchell will illuminate the history at stake.

Towards a Reflexive Ethnography: (Re-)inserting the Producer and Process Into the Research Equation

Abstract: The individualistic orientation of life histories has long been hailed as an antidote to the generalizing tendencies of ethnographic research. However, the life history method is not without problems of its own, as I explain by referencing some of the most well celebrated life histories and so-called ‘autobiographies’ in the anthropological corpus. The traditional method of composing the life history as a flowing narrative is not only morally dishonest but also intellectually inadequate because it conveys the false impression of a chronologically timeless and uninterrupted soliloquy. By focusing only on the final product, life histories ignore the other two components in the communicative process. In this article, I emphasize the need to (re-)insert the producer and process into the research equation.

A prática esportiva como ferramenta educacional: trabalhando valores e a resiliência

A sociedade brasileira vislumbra, na atualidade, o desafio de organizar e realizar megaeventos esportivos de grande impacto social. Nesse contexto, a atividade esportiva pode ser considerada uma ferramenta eficaz de intervenção psicossocial, especialmente com crianças e jovens. A presente pesquisa teve por objetivo investigar situações e vivências de atletas de alto rendimento relacionadas ao aprendizado decorrente da inserção nesse contexto e aos valores ali preconizados. Foram realizadas entrevistas por meio do método de história de vida com quatro atletas de duas equipes de atletismo do interior do Estado de São Paulo. Os dados foram categorizados e o conteúdo foi analisado qualitativamente. Os resultados apontaram para diversas contribuições decorrentes da inserção no contexto esportivo, algumas atreladas às transformações externas, como a melhora da condição estética, financeira ou de inclusão social, e outras relacionadas aos aspectos internos e subjetivos, como o reforço e o desenvolvimento de valores de cooperação, amizade, solidariedade e a capacidade de compartilhar e de superar adversidades (resiliência). Conclui-se que a atividade esportiva, quando bem conduzida (por profissionais bem capacitados), pode beneficiar tanto o desenvolvimento global do praticante, quanto os demais ambientes nos quais ele está inserido, como a família e o grupo de iguais, ampliando as contribuições para a sociedade de modo geral.

Identidade e tecnologia social: um estudo junto às artesãs da Vila Rural Esperança

Tanto o mundo quanto as pessoas estão num contínuo processo de transformação, construção e constituição, no qual o sujeito e o ambiente afetam-se mutuamente por meio das múltiplas relações estabelecidas. Sendo assim, o objetivo no presente artigo foi o de compreender de que forma a tecnologia social contribuiu para o processo de construção e constituição da identidade das artesãs da comunidade da Vila Rural Esperança, a partir do momento em que tal tecnologia transformadora (social e humana) inseriu-se em seu ambiente e foi incorporada no decorrer do projeto Seda Justa. Além de tratar-se de tema atual, como a tecnologia social e a identidade, suscita um diálogo interdisciplinar. Sabe-se que todo e qualquer tipo de transformação e forma de empreendimento/organização imprime marcas significativas nas relações profissionais e pessoais, acerca do trabalho, o que merece estudos aprofundados. A identidade sempre é afetada pelas significações culturais e varia de acordo com as situações vivenciadas e a história de vida dos sujeitos. Em virtude disso, escolheu-se o método da história de vida para a coleta dos dados, e a hermenêutica como base de interpretação. Dessa forma, a pesquisa permitiu, por meio dos relatos e das memórias das participantes da pesquisa, a exteriorização de suas experiências e sentimentos: o que valorizam, pensam, sentem e fazem, revelando, assim, o processo de construção de suas identidades e seus elementos constituintes.

Poverty in Time: Exploring Poverty Dynamics from Life History Interviews in Bangladesh

This paper draws from life history interviews to investigate poverty dynamics in Bangladesh and considers life histories as a supplement to more quantitative approaches in poverty research. Qualitative life history methods allow the examination of the temporal and spatial context of people's lives in a way that uncovers a number of social phenomena concealed to other methods. These are discussed using life histories to demonstrate the types of social phenomena that can be uncovered. A number of categories of life trajectory are also identified and the use of a categorical approach as a way of using longitudinal qualitative findings to inform social policy is discussed. The lessons learned have relevance for using life histories to examine poverty dynamics more generally and also draw attention to the potential for using life history approaches in medium-n studies which may help to cross the qual/quant divide in poverty research.

Resilient Children and Youths Overcoming Adversities, Adapting Risks and Achieving in Life in Arba Minch Town of Ethiopia

This research focuses on resilient children and youths overcoming risks and achieving in life. The central purpose is to explore the risks they encountered and the protective factors and developmental assets that helped them remain resilient and finally became successful. The adverse situations and protective factors are analyzed in the context of family, community and national structures and systems. Primary data for the study was collected mainly through in-depth life history interview, observations and focus group discussions. A total 55 key informants were interviewed in detail. Life history method was employed to generate data from 30 successful children and youths who overcame risk situations in their life as case materials. Three focus group discussions were held with 8 successful children and youths, 11 teachers, and 9 parents.The paper first identifies the major risks to children and youth in the family, schools and the community environment. The common risks in the family include poverty related to national and international economic problems and family disorganization resulted from divorce, loss of biological parents and parental conflicts which pushed a large number of children to the streets or exposed them to various kinds of abuses. Many of government schools are also not effective. The common problems in schools include limited students’ participation in teaching learning process, illegal video and drug centers around schools and shortage of educational facilities, prevalence of student misbehaviors and low academic performances and achievements. School problems are also related to national and global socioeconomic crises. The community environment is also not safe and comfortable for positive child/youth development. The major challenges in the community include high rate of substance abuse mainly chat (stimulant plant whose leaf is chewed by youngsters for long time) and shisha (drug to be smoked), crime and violence, unemployment and idleness, expansion of illegal video centers and absence of recreational and talent development centers. These factors tend to affect the intellectual moral and social developments of children and youths and expose them to various types of abuses and exploitations. Thus, these problems are linked with local, national and global socioeconomic and financial problems and shocks. However, some children and young adults coped with all these challenges and finally became successful. In this case, the 30 children and young adults, whose case histories are analyzed, successfully adapted and transformed their early life difficulties into success. Those informants enjoyed various types of protective factors and developmental assets. Some of them enjoyed consistent family advices, encouragement and guidance about healthy cultural and religious values and life skills. Others took fair responsibilities in the family early where they learned practical social skills. But the majority obtained material, financial and technical supports in critical moments of their early life from others. Attachment to positive peers and role model individuals also encouraged and helped children and young adults to search own talents and explore surrounding resources .Those protective factors in turn helped informants to develop skills of entrepreneurship, positive self-regard and dependable personalities. In addition, children’s individual qualities such as hard working, saving, resourceful planning and communication abilities served as an important means to create social and economic capitals. Children’s internal strengths and external supports not only helped them to remain resilient but also to be socially and economically successful. Some of them become investors with a capital of more than 500,000 Birr. Their social standing improved because some participated in administrative capacities, while others earned degrees and diplomas.The study concludes that proper socialization, financial, material and technical supports in difficult times, involving children in solving family problems and attachment to positive peers and role model individuals could nurture resilience capabilities in children and youths who are growing in risk situations. It could also facilitate goal attainments. Furthermore, children need to be promoted with their individual capacities such as saving and hard working abilities so as to effectively use external supports and encouragements. Financial and material assistance at critical moment of children’s and youths’ is crucial.

História de vidas de mulheres submetidas à histerectomia

This research has a qualitative approach and a descriptive nature. It was carried out at the “Fabrica de Cuidados” (a care center), that is at the Nursing School Alfredo Pinto and also in the gynecology outpatient clinic of University Hospital and Gafree Guinle from April to July 2009. We interviewed 30 women who had been submitted to hysterectomy. The goal was to learn about the meanings of hysterectomy and interference in their sexual health. For this, we used an interview method of life history with a single question: How did hysterectomy change your history of life, and interfered on your sexual health? The analysis of the statements was based on thematic analysis. Research findings led to two categories: 1) Sexual health, daily life, and quality of life of women living with uterine bleeding, 2) Myths and truths related to hysterectomy and sexual health interference. Women described the procedure of hysterectomy as mutilating but at the same time they saw the procedure positive for their sexual health, they were optimist hoping that after the hysterectomy their quality of life could improve, because they would be free of symptoms that bothered them, and they could resume their lives, their sexual and social roles.

Presenting Life Histories: A Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography

This select annotated bibliography reviews a range of approaches to the analysis and presentation of life history research. The aim is to introduce readers to the life history method, as well as similar and interrelated approaches, and to identify strategies and tools that are available to researchers that employ this unique qualitative methodology. Section One introduces the life history method, discussing its origins and the reasons for its rise in popularity in the past decades. The section also clarifies the terms used to define and describe the method, and outlines the methodological and theoretical choices that confront researchers wishing to employ life histories. Section Two lists and briefly describes books, journal articles and online resources that should be of general interest to researchers using life history methods. This section includes articles that put forward a critique of this qualitative method and flag up some of the many ethical issues that researchers are bound to face in the collection, interpretation and presentation of life histories. Section Three forms the bulk of the annotated bibliography. Grouped according to the method used, it identifies the various ways that life histories are analysed and presented, providing examples from constructionist, realist, action research and testimonial approaches. A ‘Matrix of Presentation Styles’ ties together the annotate bibliography to demonstrate a menu of options available to researchers. The bibliography ends with a recapitulation of what has been presented and discusses the future of the life history method in social science research.

Lives of the businessmen. Reflections on life-history method and contemporary hegemonic masculinity

Life-history research is a difficult and time-consuming but extraordinarily fruitful method of research for social analysis in general, and gender analysis specifically. Its potential is illustrated through two case studies drawn from an Australian project on corporate masculinities. One reveals an older style of local hegemonic masculinity that faces difficulties in a globalizing economy; the other is more technocratic and globally oriented but suggests some of the difficulties in modernizing managerial masculinity. The specifically historical character of the life-history is emphasised, as a key to its usefulness in decoding the dynamics of the gender order.

Globalization and life history research: fragments of a life foretold

The goal of this paper is to understand, by way of a life history of one low‐income working‐class youth, how globalization impacts the working class in a developing nation. The concept of globalization and the method of life history seem diametrically opposed. Globalization is an idea about large social forces that impact the economic and material conditions of nations. Life history assumes that understanding the specific context of one person is paramount. The author takes issue with the idea that the two concepts are incompatible and instead suggests that life history affords a way to come to terms with globalization that is often missing from large cross‐national studies. The text suggests that life history provides opportunities for understanding globalization from a new vantage point that does not contradict previous research, but instead lends depth and understanding about how individuals act and react to the forces of globalization.

‘Rip That Book up, I've Changed’: Unveiling the Experiences of Women Living with and Surviving Enduring Mental Illness

The lives of women with an enduring mental illness have been little researched within occupational therapy. This study explored the experiences of five women living with enduring mental illness in their communities. The women were interviewed over a 2-year period using the life history method. Data were recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data set was analysed in two ways. First, from the narrative analysis, an individual unique narrative of each woman's life was created. Secondly, the data were analysed using the constant comparative method. This paper presents the findings from the constant comparative analysis. Six themes were identified, which lifted the veil on the experience of living with and surviving enduring mental illness. Each theme represented a section of the women's lived experiences: a specific frame of the bigger picture of their lives. The themes were present life, life roles, relationships, illness transitions, help and cultural context. The findings highlighted the complex life roles and needs of the women over time. They unveiled how the women became agents in creating a better life for themselves and others. Practitioners have a role to play in creating meaningful and safe environments that encourage social inclusion and recovery.

Support workers and people with learning disabilities: participative and life history research

Support workers have more day‐to‐day contact with people with a learning disability than any other group of staff, but a high proportion are unqualified and untrained, and there are problems in recruitment and retention. This paper uses undisclosed participant observation and life history methods to analyse the experiences of a support worker in six agencies that provide community‐based care for people with learning disabilities. It was found that a lack of training is associated with limited awareness of the needs of people with learning disabilities, and contributes to stress among staff. Some support workers manage stress by disengaging from their clients. Person‐centred approaches had limited impact, and even agencies committed to person‐centred planning can be reluctant to implement it with clients with severely impaired communication. The greatest commitment to staff induction and training and person‐centred approaches was found in small organisations managed by families. It is possible that large residential care providers are more likely than small agencies to have extended lines of management and standardised procedures, and further research is needed to assess whether these factors are associated with disempowerment of staff and clients.

‘Mama’s family’

Undocumented workers create social cohesion, which serves as a source of solidarity and identification for individuals who are otherwise pushed to the periphery by the dominant society. This article is based on a larger study examining the personal, social, and working lives of undocumented restaurant workers using an ethnographic approach in conjunction with the life history method. Based on observation of their day-to-day interactions in the restaurant and in conversations, this article discusses the ‘family’ or fictive kin relationship they establish with their co-workers and their employer. Despite their illegal status and low earnings, this group of undocumented workers is able to maintain their dignity, find ways of bringing joy to their lives, and attain a sense of belonging. Integration into the restaurant’s pseudo-family averts feelings of frustration and loneliness that are often the consequences of marginalization.

Starting again in rural west China: stories of rural women across generations

Rural China is being remade in the wake of a massive exodus of young people to work in the cities and coastal areas. The core rural population is now middle-aged, and is caring for both parents and grandchildren. In this process, women and men are creating new patterns of kinship and social ties across distance and generations. This article draws on research that combined household analysis with focused life-history methods to explore these departures through a focus on three illustrative cases from upland west China.

Teacher commitment trends: Cases of Hong Kong teachers from 1997 to 2007

This article examines the commitment of Hong Kong teachers in the decade after the political transition in 1997, when large-scale education reforms were launched. The life history method was employed to investigate teachers’ self-appraisal of their commitment levels in their career course and factors contributing to such trends. Findings not only affirm the previous view that teacher commitment involves the interplay of personal, workplace and education systemic factors but also illuminate how these factors interplay differently to effect sustained/increased or decreased commitment. ‘Love for students’ is argued to be a crucial personal factor which counteracts unfavorable external conditions to sustain teacher commitment.

Teachers' professional lives and continuing professional development in changing times

This paper presents a qualitative study about how teachers entering the profession at different times over the last five decades made sense of their professional lives and continuing professional development (CPD) experiences against the backdrop of the CPD policy infrastructure and wider educational context in Hong Kong. The life history method was used. The findings of the study show that teachers' self‐directed professional development was driven by a commitment to the moral purposes of teaching, characterized by their active agency in professional knowledge construction, and supported by facilitating organizational conditions in schools. The study also reveals that fierce competition among individuals and schools, intensification of work, stress, uncertainty and alienation on the part of teachers evidenced the de‐humanizing effects of an increasingly managerialist and market‐oriented approach to school education. Implications for educational leaders at policy and school levels and teachers will be discussed.