Storytelling in Project Heart to Heart: A Means to Bridge Generational Gap in Post-1965 Filipino Immigrant Families

As we share our experiences with others, we also explore its meaning to ourselves and to whomever it is being shared with. This is how stories are told. Most families usually develop a body of stories that is passed on from one generation to the next generation. These stories are used to preserve the family member\u27s identity, history, and values. The stories touch not only our past experiences, but also influences our present and links it to the future. This study explored the Filipino American families\u27 experiences of storytelling as a means of bridging together past, present, and future experiences of grandparents, parents, and children. What was the significance of listening to others\u27 life experiences? What meaning came about from these stories? How did three generations view their own experiences in regards to bridging a possible gap between each other? Through a qualitative study approach, I carried out a series of in-depth interviews for exploring grandparents, parents, and children\u27s experiences of storytelling and understanding related to bridging their past, present and future. All the adult participants are post-1965 immigrants. The data suggests that the grandparents and parents have similar Filipino familial values. They are also resilient in adapting to a new and very different culture. Parents still can relate to the grandparents\u27 life stories, but the children already have found it difficult. Despite this, the grandparents, parents, and children were able to understand each other\u27s world more by listening to stories from each other\u27s generations. All three generational groups recognized their responsibility of passing on their stories to preserve the Filipino heritage. The study provided a 3 Generational Link Model that demonstrates the interdependence of the three generation in preserving their Filipino culture. In addition, a Five-Step Model illustrating Effects of Intergenerational Storytelling emerged from the data analysis

MagiBricks: Fostering Intergenerational Connectedness in Distributed Play with Smart Toy Bricks

Playing together is crucial to the unique and invaluable bond between grandparents and grandchildren. However, co-located interactions and play can be limited due to time, distance, or pandemic-related restrictions. To facilitate distributed play, we developed MagiBricks, a system comprised of 3D-printed smart toy bricks and baseplates that provide feedback regarding their placement. The familiarity and appeal of toy bricks to both older adults and children make them ideal for intergenerational play. We conducted a within-subjects study with six grandparent-grandchildren pairs. We compared the interactions and perceived connectedness of the pairs while playing over a distance with either i) MagiBricks or ii) identical regular toy bricks. We found that MagiBricks affected communication dynamics, role taking, nature of play, and perception of connectedness during playtime compared to regular bricks, and were unanimously preferred. We contribute design implications for future systems leveraging (smart) tangibles and fostering intergenerational connectedness

MagiBricks: Fostering Intergenerational Connectedness in Distributed Play with Smart Toy Bricks

Playing together is crucial to the unique and invaluable bond between grandparents and grandchildren. However, co-located interactions and play can be limited due to time, distance, or pandemic-related restrictions. To facilitate distributed play, we developed MagiBricks, a system comprised of 3D-printed smart toy bricks and baseplates that provide feedback regarding their placement. The familiarity and appeal of toy bricks to both older adults and children make them ideal for intergenerational play. We conducted a within-subjects study with six grandparent-grandchildren pairs. We compared the interactions and perceived connectedness of the pairs while playing over a distance with either i) MagiBricks or ii) identical regular toy bricks. We found that MagiBricks affected communication dynamics, role taking, nature of play, and perception of connectedness during playtime compared to regular bricks, and were unanimously preferred. We contribute design implications for future systems leveraging (smart) tangibles and fostering intergenerational connectedness

Grandparent-Grandchild Virtual Communication Study

The cross generational bond between a grandparent and grandchild is extremely important. The stories, traditions, and beliefs that grandparents share with their grandchildren have the ability to shape their grandchildren’s beliefs. For grandparents, the role of being a grandparent and creating shared memories with their grandchildren leaves a positive impact on their mental health. Although the elderly population prefers to connect with others in-person, including their grandchildren, this face-to-face connection is not always possible due to schedules, distance, or health. Many products have been designed for grandparents and grandchildren to try to fill this communication gap when they are apart. However, these products are often targeted towards a narrow age group with limited support for all ages to create memories and sustain their relationship virtually. As a first step to address this gap, I investigate the way grandparents interact with their grandchildren and how distance, as well as non-in-person communication, impacts their relationship through a semi-structured interview study. My findings revealed four significant themes about what grandparents value within the grandparent-grandchild relationship, how those themes are partially integrated in devices created for grandparents and grandchildren, and how this relationship can be facilitated thoroughly through technology

All in the Family: Exploring Design Personas of Systems for Remote Communication with Preschoolers

Although there have been recent advances in remote communication technologies that foster connectedness and intimacy over a distance, systems designed for communicating with preliterate preschoolers—a desired use case—are not yet prevalent, nor are there clear guidelines for their design. We conducted a mixed-methods study to characterize the current practices, goals, and needs of people who wish to use remote communication systems with young children. We present quantitative and qualitative findings on the motivations for communicating, the habits, activities, and patterns that have been established, and the barriers and concerns faced. We synthesized these findings into four design personas that describe the desired functionality and requirements of systems to support remote communication with preschoolers. For each persona, we systematically evaluated 60 research-based systems based on the extent to which each persona’s requirements were covered, demonstrating that none of the personas were greatly satisfied with the available tools

Intergenerational learning in and around the home setting: Who are the learners and how do they learn?

Children spend a relatively large amount of time in and around the home setting, where intergenerational encounters may contribute to their learning. As a result of demographic and societal changes, vertical links within families between children and their grandparents could become very important. This may particularly apply where grandparents have moved to join their families who have migrated and where they could play an important role with regard to intergenerational learning. To investigate the nature of intergenerational learning exchanges young children with Sylheti/Bengali-speaking grandparents or monolingual English-speaking families of mixed ethnicity living in East London were recruited. Case studies of the families were conducted through interviews, observation, video-recordings, and scrapbooks. A qualitative analysis examined the patterns of learning interactions and the kinds of knowledge exchanged. Findings suggest that children and their grandparents take part in a wide range of activities where learning interactions are co-constructed within a relationship of trust and security, and where all participants contribute and learn. A wide range of concepts and skills was developed through intergenerational learning. The findings are discussed in relation to different notions of generation, and in relation to learning perspectives summarised as a framework representing learner agency and social engagement

EXPLORING RECIPROCITY IN GRANDPARENT-GRANDCHILDREN CARE: THE CASE OF MDLANKOMO LOCATION, LIBODE IN THE EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

In South Africa, there appears to be a paradigm shift where the majority of the country’s children are taken care of by their grandparents. This article explores the states of reciprocity existing in grandparent-grandchildren care in Mdlankomo location, Libode of the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The study utilised a qualitative approach to explore the perceptions of grandparents on reciprocity between them and their grandchildren. Nine grandparents were interviewed. The findings revealed that grandparents manifested love for their grandchildren, who also reciprocated the gesture; delinquent behaviours of grandchildren exasperated their grandparents; the conflict between grandparents and grandchildren ensued when children suspected the abuse of their children’s welfare grant by their grandparents. The researchers urge the Department of Social Development and NGOs working in the children’s domain to strengthen the programmes for the well-being of older persons and children

Sharing culture in a tech world: Grandparent–grandchild cultural exchanges over video chat.

Grandparents who were separated from their infant grandchildren during COVID-19 sought other ways to connect, including video chat. Video chat supports learning, and its features (e.g., contingent responsiveness) may allow for cultural exchange. However, technological problems may disrupt these exchanges. In a semi-naturalistic, longitudinal study, 47 families submitted up to three video chats and surveys. Families were predominantly White/Caucasian, highly-educated, and lived between 1 and 2700 miles apart. Multilevel models were used to predict the proportion of the sessions devoted to exchanging culture (e.g., holidays, parenting advice) and managing tech problems. Culture exchange did not change as a function of infant age, video chat experience, or when encountering tech problems. Although only marginally statistically significant, culture exchange increased as distance increased. Tech problems changed as a function of tech talk. A qualitative analysis revealed that cultural transmission occurred via a culture of care and sharing of information across video chat, that families adapted their behaviors to the new technology, and that technology disruptions rarely interfered with the flow of information. These findings demonstrate the ability to share culture when physically separated and in the presence of tech disruptions. Further, this study supports previous work on the emerging culture of video chat. Families adapted to being separated, and grandparents and infants successfully communicated through a new modality. Because video chat supports family relationships, equitable access to high-speed internet should be a priority to enable more families to use it

The teller\u27s tale : the role of the storyteller in the life of the story

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Multifaith Families and their Narratives within Society

The goal of this project is to nudge the conversation about interfaith families in a direction that examines the family post–interfaith dialogue. The term multifaith better represents this new aim because it encompasses all interactions and does not limit the family to the constraints of the moniker interfaith. I apply Walter Fisher’s concepts of coherence and fidelity, in coordination with family communication literature, to structure this project and to study the various aspects of a multifaith family and narrative. I also use three typologies of multifaith family (Passive/Passive, Passive/Active, and Active/Active) to better understand the variations of this family. The project includes a discussion of the multifaith family, the extended family, and the interaction with the faith community. Furthermore, I include examples of multifaith representation in popular culture because this illustrates the inclusion of this family type in media. The multifaith family is a distinct and growing type of family, and this project tries to better understand them and their narratives