PASSING IDENTITY AND ETHNIC CULTURE IN LATVIAN EMIGRANT FAMILIES

The paper discusses the problem of preserving native Latvian language and the transfer of cultural identity in Latvian diaspora. One of the central tasks for Latvia’s diaspora policy is to support preservation of Latvian language and culture in diaspora with the aim of strengthening the Latvian identity and the sense of belonging to Latvia. Support is provided to diaspora schools for preserving Latvian language, culture and identity outside of Latvia. However, for children not to lose their Latvian language skills it is important that the language is used also in the family.This paper uses a combination of a quantitative survey and in-depth interviews with the parents of children in diaspora. The aim is to ascertain the language situation in the diaspora, explore practices and perspectives on sustaining Latvian language and ethnic culture.In the theoretical aspect, the research data is approached with reference to P. Bourdieu’s view on language skills as linguistic capital, a form of cultural capital. Parent’s attention to sustaining their heritage language in emigration is analysed in relation to children’s identity formation and family communication with family members left behind. The data confirms that parents play a big role in language acquisition and sustaining by children in emigration, and parents hold the main responsibility in the process of realizing ethnic identity as a value.

THE FAMILY WITHIN THE VALUE SYSTEM AND FAMILY VALUES IN THE CONTEXT OF LATVIA TODAY: INSIGHTS FROM THE EUROPEAN VALUES SURVEY

The formation of a person's values and mindset shift is a process that takes place throughout a person's life, but views on basic values are instilled in the family from early childhood and their formation continues during the socialisation process at school and in society. The family plays a primary role in the transmission of values as important elements of an individual's character, the teaching of which largely determines the individual's life path. Just as family structures have changed over time and vary from culture to culture, so too have attitudes towards the family, its relationship to society and its relative value in the social order. This paper analyses the place of the family as a value in the overall value system of the individual and identifies the value beliefs that currently prevail within the family itself. The main research questions to be answered are: (1) are there differences in views – and what are these differences – on the value of the family among different groups in Latvian society; (2) what values are transferred in the family and passed down to children? The analysis of the problem is based on Latvian data from the fifth phase of the European Values Survey (EVS) in 2021 (n=1335).

Social factors as the catalyst of emigration

The objective of the study is to address the factors contributing to emigration from Latvia, in particular by highlighting the importance of social factors in the emigration decision, using the theory of push and pull factors of migration as a theoretical basis. The role of the family and the desire to improve not only the economical, but also the social and psychological conditions of families are important factors in the decision-making process, while maintaining links with Latvia. The authors argue that social factors are essential to the migration decision alongside economic factors, and in particular the family situation. The family is a resource that helps to settle in the new country of residence. The family relationship is addressed in terms of both “ontological security” and a feeling of “social anchoring”. The family remains important in maintaining links with relatives in Latvia.publishersversionPeer reviewe

The Biographical Approach in the Analysis of the Individual and Social Aspects of Biographical Disruption. Summary of the Doctoral Thesis

Promocijas darbs izstrādāts: Rīgas Stradiņa universitātē. Aizstāvēšana: 2015. gada 31. martā plkst.10.00 Rīgas Stradiņa universitātes Socioloģijas Promocijas padomes atklātā sēdē Rīgā, Dzirciema ielā 16, Hipokrāta auditorijā.Promocijas darbā veikta biogrāfiskā pārrāvuma individuālo un sociālo aspektu socioloģiska analīze. Biogrāfiskā pārrāvuma jēdziens raksturo pēkšņu, indivīda dzīvei būtisku notikumu ietekmi uz viņa dzīves gājumu, kā rezultātā kardināli mainās dzīves gājuma virzība un ieceres. Šīs indivīdu ietekmējošās nozīmīgās pārmaiņas tiek ne vien objektīvi piedzīvotas, bet arī subjektīvi interpretētas. Promocijas darbā biogrāfiskais pārrāvums tiek aplūkots kā traumatisks process, kas ienes būtiskas pārmaiņas indivīda dzīves gājumā un biogrāfijā kā dzīves gājuma uztverē un interpretācijā. Terminu biogrāfiskais pārrāvums ieviesa britu sociologs Maiks Berijs (Bury) 1982. gadā. Analizējot slimības kā biogrāfiskā pārrāvuma pieredzi, Berijs izmantoja Entonija Gidensa jēdzienu kritiskā situācija, ko Gidenss attiecināja uz sociāla rakstura pārrāvumiem, pieņemot, ka būtiskiem notikumiem biogrāfijā ir tāda pati ietekme (Giddens 1979). Promocijas darba autore līdzās biogrāfiskā pārrāvuma jēdzienam analizē vairāku autoru teorētiskās nostādnes jautājumā par būtisku, pēkšņu notikumu ietekmi uz individuālām biogrāfijām, tādējādi meklējot un raksturojot līdzīgās procesu izpausmes, tomēr akcentējot arī atšķirīgu saturu un nozīmi. Biogrāfisko pārrāvumu kā procesu, ko izraisa pagrieziena punkts analizējis Anzelms Stross (Strauss, 1959). Viņa definētajam konceptam tuvs ir Normena K. Denzina formulētais epifāniju koncepts naratīvos – epifānijas ir eksistenciālas krīzes momenti, kuri cilvēku dzīvi ietekmē pašos pamatos, un tie arī strukturē biogrāfisko izpēti (Denzin 1989). Promocijas darbā analizēti arī Deivida Mandelbauma uzskati – viņš pagrieziena punktus attiecina uz jebkuru periodu, kad indivīda dzīvē notiek būtiskas pārmaiņas, ieskaitot vēsturiskos pagrieziena punktus; Reičelas Tomsones pētījumos par pārrāvuma momentiem jauniešu dzīvē lietotie termini kritiskie momenti (Thomson et al. 2007) un Robina Hamfrija biogrāfiju pētījumos ieviestie koncepti karjeras lūzums un sociālā karjera (Humphrey 1993). Promocijas darba centrālais jēdziens ir biogrāfiskais pārrāvums. Biogrāfiskais pārrāvums tiek analizēts kā atšķirīgu cēloņu izraisīts. Viens no šiem cēloņiem ir smagas hroniskas slimības – krūts un/vai olnīcu vēža – paaugstināts risks, ko indivīds saņem ģenētiskā mantojuma ceļā kā noteiktas ģimenes loceklis, ko asinsradniecības saites saista ar citu šīs slimības gēna nesēju iepriekšējās paaudzēs. Otrs biogrāfisko pārrāvumu izraisošais cēlonis, kas analizēts šajā darbā, ir kardinālas sociālās pārmaiņas vēsturisko notikumu – padomju okupācijas un Otrā pasaules kara – kontekstā. Abos biogrāfiskā pārrāvuma veidos, kas savā konkrētajā izpausmē ir individuāli un unikāli, analizēti arī sociālie aspekti, jo indivīda dzīves gājums, ietverot biogrāfisko pārrāvumu, norisinās noteiktā sociālā laikā un sociālā telpā, indivīdam atrodoties sociālajās attiecībās gan personiskā, gan institucionālā līmenī. Promocijas darbā biogrāfiskā pārrāvuma individuālo un sociālo aspektu socioloģiskā izpētē izmantota biogrāfiskā pieeja – metodoloģija, kas ietver kvalitatīvo metožu kopumu. Pētījuma metodoloģija ir induktīva, tā virzās no datu vākšanas empīriskajā pētījumā uz teorētisko analīzi un secinājumu izstrādi. Promocijas darbā biogrāfiskās pieejas ietvaros kā metode izmantots valodas formā pausts naratīvs. Promocijas darba autore biogrāfiskā pārrāvuma izpētē izmanto vairāku biogrāfisko pieeju – reālistiskās un naratīvās – pozitīvo sasniegumu integrāciju, respektējot abu minēto pieeju iezīmes un ņemot vērā, ka dzīvesstāsts ir realitātes interpretācija, kas tomēr ietver esošo un bijušo kā reālu dzīvi un pieredzi. Šādu pieeju Jeja Peka Ross (Roos 2003) dēvē par neoreālistisko pieeju, kurā biogrāfijas tiek aplūkotas kā būtiski, uz praksi orientēti naratīvi. Smagas hroniskas slimības vai tās paaugstināta riska kā biogrāfiskā pārrāvuma izpētē promocijas darbā izmantoti empīriskā pētījuma dati, ko darba autore ieguvusi, strādājot pētījuma projektā „Jaunas starpdisciplināras zinātniskās grupas izveide krūts vēža izpētei, terapijas efektivitātes un pacienta dzīves kvalitātes uzlabošanai” (vienošanās Nr. 2009/0230/1DP/1.1.1.2.0/09/APIA/VIAA/070). Kardinālu sociālo pārmaiņu izraisīta biogrāfiskā pārrāvuma izpētē izmantoti empīriskie dati no longitudināla pētījuma, kas veikts Latvijas Universitātes Filozofijas un socioloģijas institūta Nacionālās mutvārdu vēstures projektā. Kopš 1996. gada vairāku gadu garumā, izmantojot biogrāfisko pieeju, veikts pētījums Māja, kurā par informācijas avotu izmantotas dzīvesstāstu intervijas, kā arī ar stāstītāju atļauju pieejamie personiskie dokumenti. Darbā analizēti divi biogrāfiskā pārrāvuma pārvarēšanas veidi: biogrāfiskais darbs un sociālā atbalsta saņemšana. Papildus naratīvu analīzei konteksta raksturojumam izmantoti pētnieku veiktie interviju komentāri, no personiskiem dokumentiem ar stāstītāju atļauju iegūtā informācija un statistikas dati.Promocijas darbs veikts ar Eiropas sociālā fonda projekta “Atbalsts doktorantiem studiju programmas apguvei un zinātniskā grāda ieguvei Rīgas Stradiņa universitātē” finansiālu atbalstu (2009/0147/1DP/1.1.2.1.2/09/IPIA/VIAA/009)

Biogrāfiskā pieeja biogrāfiskā pārrāvuma individuālo un sociālo aspektu analīzē. Promocijas darba kopsavilkums

The doctoral thesis was developed at Riga Stradiņš University. Defence: on March 31, 2015 at 10.00 a.m. at the open meeting of the Riga Stradiņš University Sociology Dissertation Board in Auditorium Hippocrates, Dzirciema iela 16, Riga.A sociological analysis of the individual and social aspects of biographical disruption has been performed in this dissertation. The concept of biographical disruption describes the influence of a significant, sudden event on the course of an individual’s life that cardinally changes its direction and plans. These significant changes that affect an individual are experienced both objectively and interpreted subjectively. In this dissertation, the concept of biographical disruption is examined as a traumatic process that brings significant changes to the course of the individual’s life and his or her biography as well as his or her perception and interpretation of the course of his or her life. The term “biographical disruption” was coined in 1982 by British sociologist Michael Bury. In analysing illnesses as an experience of biographical disruption, Bury used Anthony Giddens’ concept of “critical situation”, which Giddens had applied to disruptions of a social nature, assuming that significant events in a person’s biography had the same sort of influence (Giddens 1979). In addition to the concept of biographical disruption, the author of the dissertation also analyses the theoretical statements of several other authors regarding the influence of significant, sudden events on individual biographies, thereby searching for and characterising similar manifestations of the processes, nevertheless focusing on their differing contents and meanings. Strauss analysed biographical disruption as a process brought about by a “turning point” (Strauss 1959). This idea is close to the concept of “epiphanies” in narratives as formulated by Norman Denzin – moments of existential crisis that influence a person’s life at its very foundation and also structure a biographical study (Denzin 1989). Also analysed are David Mandelbaum’s views, in which turning points are attributed to any period in an individual’s life when significant changes take place, including historical turning points, as well as the term “critical moments” used by Rachel Thomson in studies of disruption moments in the lives of young people (Thomson et al. 2007) and the concepts of “career break” and “social career” introduced by Robin Humphrey in biography studies (Humphrey 1993). The central concept of the dissertation is biographical disruption. Biographical disruption is analysed as having been brought about by various causes. One of these causes is an inherited heightened risk of serious chronic illness – in this case, breast cancer or ovarian cancer – which the individual has received as the result of genetic inheritance, that is, being a member of a specific family and being biologically related to a carrier of this gene in previous generations. The second cause for biographical disruption analysed in this dissertation is profound social changes due to historical events, namely, the Second World War and the Soviet occupation. For both types of biographical disruption – both of which are unique and individual in their specific expressions – also their social aspects are analysed, because the course of an individual’s life that includes a biographical disruption takes place within a specific social time and social space, with the individual participating in social relationships both on a personal and institutional level. The biographical approach – a methodology that consists of a qualitative set of methods – has been used for the dissertation’s sociological study of the individual and social aspects of biographical disruption. The methodology is inductive; it leads from data collection in the empirical study to a theoretical analysis and the drafting of conclusions. The method used in this dissertation within the framework of the biographical approach is a narrative expressed in the form of language. In her study of biographical disruption, the author of the dissertation has used a combination of positive achievements from several biographical approaches – realistic and narrative – respecting the features of both approaches mentioned and taking into account that a life story is an interpretation of reality that contains the past and present as real life and real experience. Jeja-Pekka Roos (Roos 2003) calls this a neorealistic approach, in which biographies are considered essential, practice-oriented narratives. The data used for the dissertation’s empirical study of serious chronic illness or heightened risk thereof as a source of biographical disruption were obtained by the author during her participation in the project “Creation of a new interdisciplinary research team to investigate breast cancer and to increase the efficacy of therapy and the patient’s quality of life” (agreement No. 2009/0230/1DP/1.1.1.2.0/09/APIA/VIAA/070). Empirical data from a longitudinal study conducted by the National Oral History project at the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the University of Latvia were used in the study of biographical disruption caused by radical social changes. This project, titled Māja, began in 1996 and took place over the course of several years; it used life story interviews as well as interviewee personal documents (with permission from respondents) as a source of information. The study analyses two methods of overcoming biographical disruption: biographical work and social support. In addition to the narrative analysis, interview comments from researchers involved in the empirical study as well as personal document data (with permission from respondents) and statistical data were used to characterise the context.This doctoral thesis has been completed with financial support from the European Social Fund project “Support for doctoral study programmes and the receiving of scientific degrees at Riga Stradiņš University”

Biographical disruption and factors facilitating overcoming it

In the paper the concept “biographical disruption” is interpreted as a process that includes significant changes in the course of an individual's life and biography as the perception and interpretation of the life course. As the central concept of the paper, biographical disruption is analyzed as having been brought about by an inherited heightened risk of breast cancer or ovarian cancer. The paper has examined the influence of the inherited breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 on the development of biographical disruption. The empirical research data used for the study were obtained from the interdisciplinary research project “Creation of a new interdisciplinary research team to investigate breast cancer and to increase the efficacy of therapy and the patient's quality of life” (agreement No. 2009/0230/1DP/1.1.1.2.0/09/APIA/VIAA/070). In studying and analyzing the possibilities of overcoming a biographical disruption, the conclusion is that this depends on the individual's own biographical work, or narrative reconstruction and various types of social support

Migratsioon versus kodu: vaateid ühele uurimisprojektile

The article introduces the possibilities of using the biographical method for researching the processes of migration on the basis of analysing the materials of the research project Mā ja (‘Home/House’).Migration, the movement of people from one location to another, farther or nearer, brings along the change of home. While one’s home is the symbol of stability, migration can be described as being the opposite of stability. Oral history researchers from the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology of the University of Latvia have continuouslyworked on the Mā ja project since its launch in 1995. They have repeatedly interviewed the residents of an apartment house in Riga and consulted their personal documents. The information collected in the course of the study deals with the period from the year 1936 (when the house was built) to the present day. The study approaches the life stories of the inhabitants as subjective social reconstructions of the past, which are interpreted in the context of the observed residential house and recent history of Latvia.The dynamics of historical conflicts and social processes that took place in the society can be traced in the history of the house. Upon the analogy of this house, migration processes can be identified and viewed in close-up.On the one hand, the house is characterised in this study as an actual property, material value and financial resource, and an important factor for securing material well-being. On the other hand, however, the regaining of and return to the house is seen as something that binds together the disrupted pieces of life and reemerges as the symbol of safety, stability, and the continuity of generations. The house is a spiritual value, an epitome of the past happiness, close people, and memories

Social factors as the catalyst of emigration

The objective of the study is to address the factors contributing to emigration from Latvia, in particular by highlighting the importance of social factors in the emigration decision, using the theory of push and pull factors of migration as a theoretical basis. The role of the family and the desire to improve not only the economical, but also the social and psychological conditions of families are important factors in the decision-making process, while maintaining links with Latvia. The authors argue that social factors are essential to the migration decision alongside economic factors, and in particular the family situation. The family is a resource that helps to settle in the new country of residence. The family relationship is addressed in terms of both “ontological security” and a feeling of “social anchoring”. The family remains important in maintaining links with relatives in Latvia

Petijums par medicinas masu profesionalo darbibu - medicinas masu aprupes nodrosinasanas aktualo problemu apzinasana un izpete

Available from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLEMinistry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia, Riga (Latvia)LVLatvi

Social exclusion for groups endangered by unemployment; incidence of risk and its causes

Available from Latvian Academic Library / LAL - Latvian Academic LibrarySIGLELVLatvi