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Seeing through the Confucian ceiling: Chinese and Korean mothers in England

Women's Academic Network

Dr Hyun-Joo Lim

This year’s British Sociological Association annual conference was held at Glasgow Caledonian University on the theme of ‘Societies in Transition: Progression or Regression?’ Taking place in April each year, it is the biggest Sociology conference in the UK. With so many great opportunities to meet new and old academics, I always find this event utterly exciting and inspiring. 

At this conference I presented a paper examining the experiences of Chinese and Korean mothers in England – titled ‘Seeing through the Confucian Ceiling’. This paper is drawn from life history interviews with ten Korean and eight Chinese mothers living in England. I analysed my data using six analytical categories, which are: motherhood and gender ideology; educational level; reasons for migration; the length of stay in England; economic circumstances of the family; and the local communities in which they reside. The paper has been submitted to Families, Relationships and Societies and is currently under review. It aims to address the following questions:

1. In what ways does the motherhood ideology of Chinese and Korean mothers in England differ, and what impact does this have on their decision towards childcare and employment?

2. What are the major factors affecting such attitudes and behaviours in a diasporic setting?

3. What implications does this have on gender relations at home for these women?

I focus on the different motherhood ideologies of Chinese and Korean women and how this impacts on their employment and childcare.

Historically both China and South Korea have been heavily influenced by Confucianism, an ancient Chinese tradition that is refined by Confucius, which supports patriarchal gender relations. The key principles of Confucianism include: hierarchical human relationships, fulfilment of individual duties, communitarian values over individual ones, filial piety, and importance of seniority. Yet, simultaneously China and Korea have undergone divergent socio, political and economic development. For instance, China has only opened up the economy to market competition since 1978, much later than Korea, whilst maintaining its socialist political system. On the other hand, Korea has followed the capitalist market economy and the democratic political system since the establishment of the Republic of Korea in 1948. As a consequence of this, China and Korea have developed different ‘national cultures’, founded on the distinctive socio, economic and political characteristics of the individual countries. In line with this, existing studies conducted in these countries have indicated that despite the impact of Confucian patriarchal ideals on both societies, women in China and Korea have heterogeneous understandings of what constitutes ‘good’ mothering (e.g. Cho, 2002; Rofel, 1999). Thus, there are notable differences in the employment patterns of women with dependent children between China and Korea (see Brinton, et al. 1995; Cook and Dong, 2011).

My findings suggest that Korean mothers retained their traditional values and gendered roles, having chosen not to get involved in paid employment in order to undertake childcare responsibilities. They strongly supported intensive mothering, in which the mother takes the major responsibility for her children. Often the women described mother’s employment as having a detrimental impact on their children’s emotional wellbeing. Even those who were in employment did not show much difference in terms of their support for intensive motherhood.

By contrast, Chinese mothers did not endorse intensive mothering and showed their strong inclination to work even after moving to England, similar to their middle-class counterparts living in urban China. They constructed this as an effect of Mao’s socialist work ethic, under which they were brought up, irrespective of their economic circumstances and educational levels. In this sense, their paid work was not a mere means to provide financial support for the family, unlike existing literature has suggested, but also a crucial part of their identity.

However, despite seemingly stark differences between the two groups, gender relations at home appear to be similar. Although the accounts of Chinese mothers seem to indicate gender equality on the surface, their interview data suggest continuing gender inequality for the majority of these women, taking the double burden of childcare and paid work. Although Chinese and Korean mothers showed very different beliefs and attitudes towards employment, all the women took the primary responsibility for household labour, regardless of their educational level and employment status.

In terms of intersecting analytical components, Chinese and Korean women’s motherhood and gender ideology as obtained in their country of origin, along with their settlement into respective ethnic communities, continued to have a dominant impact on their lives in England. As for the other four analytical categories, they seem to have had less obvious impact on Chinese and Korean women’s lives. However, drawing on Hall (1990), it could be suggested that what is considered to be ‘an East Asian way’ in a transnational setting is not the same as what it is in their ‘home’ countries because it is ‘imagined’ and ‘reconfigured’ in a diasporic context. In this sense, I argue that the mothering ideologies and gendered lives for my participants are ‘hybridised’ forms that are distinctive from those existing in both their ‘home’ countries and England.

 

EU Funding – Tenders

Business Engagement, Funding opportunities

Although most people associate EU funding with Horizon 2020, other sources of funding are available, such as Tenders.

 

 

The EU’s Tenders Electronic Daily or TED  is the database to search for all European public procurement.

Registering with TED:

  • To access the entire content of TED, including the archive.
  • To personalise search profiles, according to your needs.
  • To get e-mail alerts based on your search profiles.
  • To personalise RSS feeds for your web sites and RSS readers.
  • Registration and use of TED is absolutely free, and will remain so.

By way of examples only, here are some current tenders with relevance to BU:

 

Research Professional – all you need to know

Guidance

Every BU academic has a Research Professional account which delivers weekly emails detailing funding opportunities in their broad subject area. To really make the most of your Research Professional account, you should tailor it further by establishing additional alerts based on your specific area of expertise.  The Funding Development Team Officers can assist you with this, if required.

Research Professional have created several guides to help introduce users to ResearchProfessional. These can be downloaded here.

Quick Start Guide: Explains to users their first steps with the website, from creating an account to searching for content and setting up email alerts, all in the space of a single page.

User Guide: More detailed information covering all the key aspects of using ResearchProfessional.

Administrator Guide: A detailed description of the administrator functionality.

In addition to the above, there are a set of 2-3 minute videos online, designed to take a user through all the key features of ResearchProfessional.  To access the videos, please use the following link: http://www.youtube.com/researchprofessional 

Research Professional are running a series of online training broadcasts aimed at introducing users to the basics of creating and configuring their accounts on ResearchProfessional.  They are holding monthly sessions, covering everything you need to get started with ResearchProfessional.  The broadcast sessions will run for no more than 60 minutes, with the opportunity to ask questions via text chat.  Each session will cover:

  • Self registration and logging in
  • Building searches
  • Setting personalised alerts
  • Saving and bookmarking items
  • Subscribing to news alerts
  • Configuring your personal profile

Each session will run between 10.00am and 11.00am (UK) on the fourth Tuesday of each month.  You can register here for your preferred date:

29th May 2015

23rd June 2015

28th July 2015

25th August 2015

These are free and comprehensive training sessions and so this is a good opportunity to get to grips with how Research Professional can work for you.

BU final year students present at 5th Annual Promotional Communications Conference

Some 44 advertising, marketing, public relations, and politics and media undergraduates present their dissertation research at the Fifth Annual Promotional Communications Conference on 20 May at the Executive Business Centre.

The conference is a capstone event for the Corporate and Marketing Communications Department (CMC) within the Faculty of Media and Communication and is an opportunity to showcase the work of our undergraduate dissertation students. This year we expect more than 100 delegates, including our students and staff, but also industry partners and some mums and dads.

They’ll hear papers on the latest industry issues and trends from our students. Students are presenting their research on topics including what it means to be and the implications of brands being ‘cool’, the cost of unpaid internships on the advertising industry, using social media to communicate science, attitudes toward and the stigmatization of mental illness, how lad culture also hurts men, impulse buying on line, and so much more.

And we’ll all be treated to talks from two outstanding industry representatives: Camilla Kemp, COO at M&C Saatchi  and BU Public Relations graduate Rosie Warin (’09), who is is co-Managing Director of Global Tolerance.
“We created the conference to offer students an opportunity to share the work they’ve done on a project that culminates their studies, and we enjoy showcasing that hard work,” said Dr Richard Scullion, CMC head of department.

The department, which offers undergraduate and postgraduate taught degrees in advertising, marketing communications, public relations, and politics and media, created the conference as an opportunity for students to choose to, in addition to the written dissertation, present their research to colleagues on their course, academics and guests from the promotional communications industries. And again this year we’ll welcome proud parents and friends to the event.

In addition to the conference, CMC launched the Journal of Promotional Communications in 2013. The journal is an open-access, online journal that, since the first edition, accepts submissions from undergraduates and postgraduates from BU and beyond. Research published there can come from a variety of disciplines, such as marketing, advertising, PR theory, consumer culture and behaviour, political communications, media studies, sociology, cultural studies, and management.

So far, the journal has published three issues of student work. The latest edition, Volume 3, Issue 1, was published in April and includes some articles where students and staff co-authored papers.

Again this year, the top papers from the 2015 Promotional Communications conference will be published in the journal.

The students presenting at the conference are among the more than 200 final-year students in CMC who have worked for months on their individual research projects. CMC students can choose to write a traditional dissertation of 10,000 words or write a research paper in the style of an 8,000-word journal article and deliver a 20-minute paper at the student conference.

Dr Janice Denegri-Knott, Dr Carrie Hodges, Dr Dan Jackson, Dr Richard Scullion and Dr Shelley Thompson organize the conference.

Royal Society Pairing Scheme Opportunity

Guidance

Each year the Royal Society’s pairing scheme matches up 30 research scientists with UK parliamentarians and civil servants. By spending time in Westminster and the researcher’s lab, participants learn about each other’s work and gain a greater insight into how research findings can help inform policy making.

Places are available for this year’s scheme, which begins with a ‘Week in Westminster’ during which you’ll meet your pair. Over the week you will spend two days shadowing them, taking part in workshops and hearing speakers. After the ‘Week in Westminster’ your pair will visit you in your lab to get an insight into the world of research. This year’s ‘Week in Westminster’ takes place from Monday 23 – Thursday 26 November.  More information or to apply visit the Royal Society website or contact Rachael Mann.

HE Policy Update

Monday

Fees

As part of their ‘Does Cost Matter’ report, the National Education Opportunities Network discovered that 40% of university applicants might choose a different course if tuition fees were reduced to £6,000. Lower fees would mean different course choices, say students (THE).

University Spending

Analysis by the Complete University Guide reveals that class sizes are falling and universities are spending more on facilities. UK university class sizes falling, study finds (Guardian).

Tuesday

HE Pay Offer

Universities have made a 0.9 per cent pay offer for university employees. The University and Colleges Employers’ Association said the offer for 2015-16 was above inflation, and was being made “against a backdrop of unprecedented uncertainties and challenging circumstances” for higher education institutions. Universities make 0.9% pay offer to staff (THE).

Wednesday

Widening Access

An interesting analysis behind Ed Miliband’s comment that disadvantaged young people are 12 times less likely to go to university, questions the statement’s validity. The analysis shows stark differences in the probability of going to university between young people from the most and least advantaged backgrounds. Depending on how one defines ‘advantaged’, the least privileged are said to be between three and six times less likely to go to university than the most privileged.  Fact Check: are disadvantaged young people 12 times less likely to go to university? (The Conversation).

Thursday

PhD Loan Scheme

A study by academics at Newcastle University and York University suggest there is no evidence that the recently announced loan scheme for PhD students will widen participation in doctoral research.  The big payback: PHD loan scheme ‘may not be the right approach’ (THE).

Friday

Post-election

Senior sector figures reveal that whoever wins or holds the balance of power after the general election, there will be risks ahead for higher education funding, fees and policy. Andy Westwood, Associate Vice President for Public Affairs at the University of Manchester and Professor of Politics and Policy at the University of Winchester, argued that the policies all “suggest a shift towards technical or work-based higher education and to applied research”. Post-election scenarios assessed (THE).

Leaders Question Time

Last night, David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg faced a Question Time audience. Higher education was touched on when Nick Clegg faced questions on the Liberal Democrat’s U-turn on tuition fees. The following article gives a summary of the leader’s performance. Question Time election debate: How the party leaders fared in the spotlight (Independent).

CIPPM Co-Director publishes three Reports for the UK Government detailing the IP Implications of 3D Printing

Awarded & submitted bids, Business Engagement, Post-award, Publishing, Research themes

CIPPM Co-Director Dr. Dinusha Mendis together with Dr. Davide Secchi (From April 2015, Associate Professor, University of Southern Denmark) and Dr. Phil Reeves of Econolyst Ltd have published a sequence of three reports on the intellectual property implications of 3D printing resulting from a project commissioned by the UK Intellectual Property Office.  The three reports can be accessed here.

In 2012, the Big Innovation Centre, in their Report ‘Three Dimensional Policy: Why Britain needs a policy framework for 3D Printing’ provided a number of recommendations.  A key recommendation was to review the intellectual property (IP) implications of 3D printing.

In 2013, the UKIPO highlighted the lack of empirical evidence relating to 3D printing and the difficulty in determining whether this emerging technology will have an impact on IP laws.  The aim of the current project was therefore to respond to this limited research.  In doing so, the Studies adopted a legal, quantitative and qualitative approach.

Study I titled ‘A Legal and Empirical Study of Online Platforms and an Analysis of User Behaviour’ explores 17 online platforms dedicated to 3D printing and provides a legal and empirical overview of how the online platforms operate and aims to provide a clearer understanding of ‘how’ the sharing happens.  In this context, Study I provides an understanding of the ‘parameters’ for sharing, e.g. terms and conditions, rules and regulations that apply, together with restrictions and bounds that apply to the user behaviour and file-sharing.  As such, Study I evaluates the extent of this phenomenon amongst users.  In doing so, the research examines the price, downloads, licences, type of physical objects, which are shared and the implications for intellectual property laws and in particular analyses the legal provisions arising from the sharing and the copyright implications relating to software.  As such, Study I presents new findings on the current status of 3D printing relating to online platforms.  

Study II titled ‘The Current Status and Impact of 3D Printing Within the Industrial Sector: An Analysis of Six Case Studies’ explores the status, impact and adoption of 3D printing in the Replacement Parts, Customised Goods and High Value Small Status Goods Industries.

To map the impact that 3D printing technology is having on the UK’s economic and legal landscape, Study II represents six case studies which consider the current and future consequence of 3D printing.  The first two case studies address issues relating to Replacement Parts and consider how 3D printing will affect the supply of aftermarket parts to the consumer.  The two case studies within the Customised Goods theme address how 3D printing enables unique products to be manufactured that are tailored to consumers’ needs, and the IP challenges that arise from this. Finally, the two case studies within the High Value Small Status Goods theme look at the impact that 3D printing is having on consumer products that have a low functional purpose, such as collectible figurines or sculptures.

The third publication – an Executive Summary – brings together the findings and conclusions from the two Studies and provides recommendations.

The Studies concluded that there is no urgency to legislate at present as 3D printing is not a mass phenomenon yet.  It warned that a premature call for legislative and judicial action in the realm of 3D printing could stifle the public interest of “fostering creativity and innovation and the right of manufacturers and content creators to protect their livelihoods”.

However, as 3D printing continues to grow it is important to address the IP issues arising in this area in order to cultivate a climate better suited to tackling impending IP issues more successfully and in a manner, which takes into account the interests of all stakeholders.

As such, the Studies make some important recommendations to Government, the Industry and Intermediaries (online platforms) about how to regulate 3D printing without resorting to legislation.

Recommendations to Government suggest the setting up of a Working Group to review the technology and the IP status particularly the position in relation to the software (Computer-Aided Design (CAD) Files) and the traceability of spare parts. The Reports also suggest that the Government should adopt a ‘wait-and-see’ approach.

The Studies conclude that 65% of users engaged in the activities of 3D printing on online platforms do not license their work, leaving their creations vulnerable and open to infringement whilst losing the ability to claim authorship. The Study therefore recommends that online platforms provide more awareness and understanding of the different types of licences. The Study suggests that this aim can be achieved by explaining the nuances relating to each licence in clear and simple language, rather than simply ‘encouraging’ the user to adopt a particular type of licence. Furthermore, online platforms can assign the most appropriate licence as a default with ‘opt-out’ as an option.

Finally, in relation to Industry, the Study recommends the adoption of new business models and provides a number of suggestions in this regard. The Reports also suggest the licensing of CAD files more widely, thereby opening up doors to a range of outlets selling 3D CAD files. This will avoid locking the manufacturer into an agreement through a system such as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for (spare) parts. Although a one-stop-shop may take away the costs of manufacture, transportation and storage whilst reducing potential infringement of IP laws, it can lead to a monopoly-situation, which should be avoided.

A press release led to the research being picked up by various media outlets including IPP Pro, Pan European Networks, Phys.org, Nanowerk and 3Dprint.com amongst others.

A further write-up of the research was published by the UKIPO following the publication of the reports.  Bournemouth University’s Research Chronicle also presented a feature article in March 2015 on the research and its findings.

Following the publication of the reports, Dr. Dinusha Mendis, the Principal Investigator of the project, was invited by the Australian Government to present the research in March 2015, highlighting the impact of this research in another jurisdiction.  Dr. Mendis also presented the research in March at the University of Tasmania in Australia and the Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne.

International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) European Region Congress in Dublin.

 

At the weekend Samuel Nyman and Michele Board were at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) European Region Congress in Dublin. This was a fantastic conference with about a 1000 delegates from around the world, all interested in ageing!  The Prime Minister (Taoiseach) of Ireland, Enda Kenny, opened the Congress and we were treated to traditional Irish songs by retired public transport workers.

The days were full of sessions from a broad range of disciplines. The sessions about ageing in place, nursing care and assessment of those aged over 65 years in acute settings and residential settings were of great interest to Michele. Key points from the research presented was the importance of participation of older people throughout the research process, the significance of application to practice and the creative dissemination of research.

Michele had a poster displayed at the conference from her PhD studies on “How Does The Life Course Influence The Meaning Of Home For Six Baby Boomers?”,There was a lot of interest and some useful ideas from the more experienced researchers on developing the work further. Dublin Poster

Samuel chaired a symposium entitled, “New directions in promoting physical activity among older people”. Samuel presented the first paper on Do Strategies To Increase Physical Activity Among Older People Work For Individuals? This was from a series of n-of-1 randomised controlled trials used to evaluate the use of behaviour change techniques to increase walking activity among older people. Dr Merja Rantakokko from Finland presented the second paper onEnvironmental Characteristics And Life-Space Mobility In Community-Dwelling Older People. This was from an observational study with a two-year follow-up that investigated cross-sectional and longitudinal predictors of restriction of outdoor mobility among older people. Dr Anne Tiedemann from Australia presented the third paper on Fitbit Pedometers And Health Coaching To Increase Physical Activity Among Older Community-dwelling People. Using a subset of the intervention group from a randomised controlled trial, Anne presented findings for, the acceptability of a new intervention that aims to increase physical activity without also increasing falls. The final paper was presented by Dr Annemarie Koster from The Netherlands on More Movement During Sedentary Time Is Positively Associated With Metabolic Outcomes. This was from an observational study that used accelerometers to investigate the benefits of physical activity for older people even during seated activities.

Despite being the last session of the day, we had a good sized audience who asked lots of interesting questions. This was a great networking opportunity and has provided some fresh ideas and new contacts for future work.

The social sciences at BU

Research assessment

In response to an open email invitation, a group of social scientists from across BU met on Tuesday 17 March to discuss prospects for inter-Faculty collaboration. As in previous meetings between FMC and HSS colleagues, it was apparent that there were opportunities for more collaborative work than currently exists, and that there is considerable enthusiasm for developing links. A growing presence of the social sciences in BU, and of BU in the social sciences, was felt to be essential to BU’s development as a university with a rich intellectual community. If you haven’t received the report from this meeting by email, and would like to do so, please email Prof. Barry Richards (brichards@bmth.ac.uk)

“Academic engages with filmmaker for impact & wider audience”

 

Bournemouth University offers two opportunities to learn how in-depth research was turned into the award-winning biopic, RUFUS STONE.  Premiered in 2012 at Bournemouth, the film has gone on to be screened by universities and by service providers across the UK and abroad.  Since the first of the year, the film has also been available for free on the Internet and has been viewed over 9,000 times around the globe.

On Thursday, 14 May RUFUS STONE will be screened on the Talbot Campus of the University in the Marconi Theatre in the Kimmeridge Building, 14:00-15:30 (Please note there will refreshments available from 13:30). This is an opportunity to see the film on a large screen with a sophisticated sound system—the best way to view the poetic rendering of this breath-taking story. Following the half-hour screening, Project Lead, Author and the film’s Executive Producer, Dr. Kip Jones, will take part in a Q & A with the audience. Dr. Trevor Hearing from the Media Faculty will moderate the discussion.

Please register for free at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/from-ivory-tower-to-silver-screen-academics-engaging-with-filmmakers-for-impact-and-to-reach-a-tickets-16206925350  The screening is part of a series of events during the week at Bournemouth University celebrating interdisciplinary research.  More info: https://research.bournemouth.ac.uk/interdisciplinary-research-week-2015/

Rufus Stone is the key output of the three-year research project, “Gay and Pleasant Land? -a study about positioning, ageing and gay life in rural South West England and Wales “. The Project was a work package in the New Dynamics of Ageing Project, “Grey and Pleasant Land?: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of the Connectivity of Older People in Rural Civic Society” and funded by Research Councils UK.

Award-winning author and educator, Patricia Leavy, describes the plot in her review of the film for The Qualitative Report: The film tells the story of a young man in rural England who, while developing an attraction to another young man, is viciously outed by small-minded village people. He flees to London and returns home 50 years later and is forced confront the people from his past and larger issues of identity and time. 

“Seven years of you life? Was it worth it?” A second opportunity, the following week on Monday, 18 May at 2:35 p.m. in the Executive Business Centre 206, Holdenhurst Road BH8 8EB, will provide a chance to hear just how Jones went about developing the project bid and obtaining funding from the Research Councils. Jones will tell the tale of the three years of development that went into securing the funding for the research and finally, the production of the film.

The Gay and Pleasant Land? Project was a research project that took place as part of the New Dynamics of Ageing Programme (a unique collaboration between five UK Research Councils—ESRC, EPSRC, BBSRC, MRC and AHRC) on ageing in 21st Century Britain. If that wasn’t complicated enough, our project at  Bournemouth University was one of seven projects in The Grey and Pleasant Land? group being funded by the NDA in south west England and Wales. Hear how Jones navigated this knotty progression, always keeping his eyes on the prize of making a professional film based on in-depth research.

Open to the public and free. More information at: http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2015/04/27/hss-sharing-research-experiences-day-18-may-2015/

 


 

Working with VeggieEAT

Olivia Magnante, Undergraduate Student

I worked alongside Heather Hartwell and Veggieat to conduct my research for my dissertation project, which proved to be a great and interesting experience .  Veggieat is a European project so it was quite unique to be able to be part of such a large scale project for my dissertation, as it would have been impossible for me to organise and conduct the same research without the help of Heather. This was not only a great experience, but it allowed me to gather really interesting and in depth results to discuss within my dissertation, as well as obtain a substantially larger sample size.

It was exciting to be working alongside so many researchers and for the time that I assisted, I was not seen as a “helper” or a “volunteer”, but as a researcher doing the same work and input as others which was also really important. Most importantly though, it was an enjoyable way to conduct research. Many people do not have the resources or time to conduct research on this scale so it was great to have the opportunity to be a part of something a bit different. I feel this gave me a really good set of results which can give you the basis of an interesting discussion. As a final year it is really important to try and strive to achieve what you want, and the dissertation is a good example of how continuous hard work can pay off.