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This book contributes to an understanding of how globalization
affects the lives of ordinary people. Since the middle of the
twentieth century Taiwan has undergone a remarkably rapid change
from a poor, mostly rural society to a thriving industrial, mostly
urban one. Because of its openness to global influences, it has
been called the first transnational culture. Women have been
especially affected by the new opportunities available as this
transition has occurred. We focus on two generations of women,
mothers who came of age before the transition and their daughters
who became adults as the island was emerging onto the top tier of
industrial economies. We interviewed both generations in five
families, obtaining first a biography of each, followed by a
detailed inventory of their everyday lifestyle activities. In
analyzing these two sets of data, a combination unique in the
literature, we show the ways in which there has been an intermixing
of transnational and local cultural elements. The result is a
flowering of distinct identities as women can choose from a greater
variety of lifestyle options by virtue of the increased awareness
of the outside world. To make sense of this unfolding process,
mostly concepts associated with theories of globalization are
employed, but in some cases reformulated. Our approach to these
issues can lay the groundwork for a more penetrating understanding
of changing lifestyles in an increasingly globalized world in which
transnational influences and traditional concerns are woven into a
complex web of cultural responses.
Written by four authors, Philip Silverman (PhD, Cornell
University), Laura Hecht (PhD, Indiana University), J. Daniel
McMillin (PhD, Southern Illinois University), and Shienpei Chang
(MA, California State University Bakersfield), this unique book
examines how social networks contribute to a sense of well-being
and a positive self-identity among older Americans and Taiwanese.
Although social network analysis has grown increasingly important
in the last several decades, few comparisons are available with
Chinese and American samples; this is the first research project
that compares a Western and an Asian culture using social network
types. This research is also the first ever to use social network
types to test hypotheses about values, reciprocity, social capital,
and the health status of older adults. The data, gathered through
systematic sampling in northeastern Oregon and central Taiwan, are
first analyzed for the content of exchanges with network members.
Then, the structure of the social network is determined by cluster
analysis from which four network types are derived. This
innovative, two-part procedure reveals a deeper understanding of
the role social networks play in the quality of life among elderly
in these two cultures. By comparing two very different cultures,
the research reveals important details about the relative impact of
broader social changes and social networks on the well-being of
older adults. The two societies represent contrasting cultural
sensibilities regarding the position and treatment of the aged.
Yet, social changes in both countries have had a similar impact on
older adults in some respects, but not in others. The data allow a
determination of whether theinherent dissimilarities between a
Western and an Asian culture, or the differences in the structure
of each network type, can best account for the variation in
exchange modalities and outcomes related to well-being and
self-identity. A final chapter highlights possible future research
in light of the theoretical and methodological implications of the
findings. This book is a valuable resource for those in cultural
anthropology, comparative sociology, gerontology, and Asian
studies.
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