A Visit To El Pipila Peñón de los Baños

Valentin, John, Cynthia & Prof Kulik

This past week I visited a farm cooperative on an ejido north of Los Rodriguez. Residents of this small dairy farming community want their children to stay home, not migrate to the U.S. What do the children need? Work. So, they have banded together and formed a SPR (Sociedad de Produccion Rural). They borrowed money from the revolving loan fund of a local non-profit organization, Center For Global Justice, and from the Weissman Foundation, and have built a greenhouse in which to grow organic tomatoes. With help and guidance from another agricultural cooperative, they constructed eight more greenhouses and are beginning to grow tomatoes and other crops. We toured the greenhouses to see their success and listened as they shared their hopes for the future. Then, they invited us to share comida (lunch).

Greenhouses of El Pipila Cooperative in Peñón de los Baños

Valentin, member of the cooperative

Valentin tells us about the effects of freezing temperatures on the tomato crop.

Los Jitomates

Organic tomatoes on the vine

Lupe and Luisa Invite Us For Comida

Una Comida Muy Rica

Luisa and Lupe prepared a delicious lunch, starting with rice,
tortillas, chile con huevos and nopales salad.

Esmeralda

Lupe's daughter, Esmeralda, joins us for comida.

Chiles Rellenos

The final course of a 3-course afternoon comida --
Chiles Rellenos Poblanos --prepared by Luisa and Lupe

A Nuestros Amigos -- Gracias Por Todo!

Left to right: Valentin, Augustin, Prof Kulik, Cynthia, John, Lupe & Luisa

A Tea To Benefit Casa de los Angeles

Mexican Mask Gallery at Casa de la Cuesta, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Yesterday afternoon I attended a tea to benefit the daycare center, Casa de los Angeles, hosted by Heidi and Bill LaVasseur at their bed & breakfast, Casa de la Cuesta. It was a wonderful opportunity to tour the extraordinary mask museum, The Other Face of Mexico, curated by owner Bill LaVasseur (see photo above).

While enjoying different varieties of tea and goodies, we were entertained by local personality, Michael Sudheer, who performed cabaret style music and classical guitarist, Bryan Townsend.
But most important, the well-attended afternoon event raised much needed funds to keep providing free daycare to over 100 children of indigent Mexican women, two nutritious meals a day for moms and siblings who are there with the children, and a variety of other support services.

Non-Profit Daycare Helps Families in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

In traditional communities, including Mexico, members of the extended family care for children while parents work. However, as poverty worsens, it is often the case that all family members must work just to meet basic survival needs. Unfortunately, sometimes the oldest child must stay home and care for younger siblings, making it impossible for her/him to attend school. All too often there is no one to care for children and they are left home alone while family members work. Without education, the next generation will stay mired in poverty.

Around ten years ago, Donna Quathamer started a free daycare center, Casa de los Angeles, to help poor families (mostly mothers) who work in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Donna through my friend Lee, also one of the center's board members, and I was given a tour of the center's two facilities. Casa de los Angeles currently serves 92 poor families and requires that each parent volunteer one hour for each day their children attend the program. In addition, there is a constant flow of volunteers from all over the world who spend anywhere from one week to one year working at the center. This reflects not only the dedication and hard work of everyone involved at the center, but also the inspiration of Donna Quathamer. Donna really is the epitome of transformational leadership.

According to their website:

"Casa de los Angeles is a community of caring people who gather to nurture children, serving the needs of the less fortunate, treating each person with dignity and respect as they work to make a better life for themselves and the community as a whole.

Established in the heart of San Miguel de Allende, it is a safe haven for the children of the streets and those whose mothers come from the outskirts of town to work or to sell their wares at the local mercado. Casa de los Angeles was founded on September 18, 2000. It has grown over the years to now serve more than 100 children from 83 families at two centers.

In addition to daycare, the centers provide a place for mothers to find the support and the help they need to make a good life for themselves and their children. Casa de los Angeles is able to provide medical care for the families, a food bank, summer camp, and scholarships" (Casa de los Angeles).

To learn more about the mission and vision of Casa de los Angeles, visit their website at: www.casadelosangeles.org.

Here is a short video from their website:

Mexico: Cultural Dimensions

Geert Hofstede has depicted the rankings of four cultural dimensions for Mexico in the above graph (geert-hofstede.com). Note that Mexico ranks low (21) on the dimension "individualism" (IDV), meaning that the culture is more group-oriented. As Hofstede explains,

"this is manifest in a close long-term commitment to the member 'group', be that a family, extended family, or extended relationships. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is paramount, and over-rides most other societal rules and regulations. The society fosters strong relationships where everyone takes responsibility for fellow members of their group" (geert-hofstede.com).

Mexico has the second highest ranking (69) of "masculinity" (MAS) in Latin America. This means that "the male dominates a significant portion of the society and power structure. This situation generates a female population that becomes more assertive and competitive, although not at the level of the male population"(geert-hofstede.com).

The "power distance" (PDI) ranking is quite high (81), even higher than in other Latin American countries. "This is indicative of a high level of inequality of power and wealth within the society. This condition is not necessarily subverted upon the population, but rather accepted by the culture as a whole" (geert-hofstede.com).

In general, Mexico is a risk-adverse country, as revealed in its high ranking (82) for Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI), which indicates "the society’s low level of tolerance for uncertainty. In an effort to minimize or reduce this level of uncertainty, strict rules, laws, policies, and regulations are adopted and implemented. The ultimate goal of this population is to control everything in order to eliminate or avoid the unexpected. As a result of this high Uncertainty Avoidance characteristic, the society does not readily accept change and is very risk adverse (geert-hofstede.com).

To read more about these cultural dimensions, see the previous post on Culture and Communication.

Culture & Communication

It is Week One of the winter term and my students are already selecting a country to study in-depth. Just a few selections include: Dominican Republic, Belize, Venezuela, and Jamaica. As they prepare their "virtual field study" projects, one area of research is how culture impacts communication.

One source of cross-cultural research in communication is from researcher, Geert Hofstede. Hofstede identified five (5) cultural dimensions that influence communication in different countries:

Power distance "the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally" (Geert-Hofstede.com).

Individualism/collectivism "...the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. On the individualist side we find societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts and grandparents) which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty (Geert-Hofstede.com).

Masculinity/femininity "... (a) women's values differ less among societies than men's values; (b) men's values from one country to another contain a dimension from very assertive and competitive and maximally different from women's values on the one side, to modest and caring and similar to women's values on the other. The assertive pole has been called 'masculine' and the modest, caring pole 'feminine'. The women in feminine countries have the same modest, caring values as the men; in the masculine countries they are somewhat assertive and competitive, but not as much as the men, so that these countries show a gap between men's values and women's values" (Geert-Hofstede.com).


Uncertainty avoidance - "deals with a society's tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; it ultimately refers to man's search for Truth. It indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations" (Geert-Hofstede.com).

Long-term orientation. "versus short-term orientation: this fifth dimension was found in a study among students in 23 countries around the world, using a questionnaire designed by Chinese scholars It can be said to deal with Virtue regardless of Truth. Values associated with Long Term Orientation are thrift and perseverance; values associated with Short Term Orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one's 'face'. Both the positively and the negatively rated values of this dimension are found in the teachings of Confucius, the most influential Chinese philosopher who lived around 500 B.C.; however, the dimension also applies to countries without a Confucian heritage" (Geert-Hofstede.com).


To explore how various countries differ with respect to these dimensions, visit Hofstede's website at www.geert-hofstede.com.

Global Citizenship

Welcome to the winter term!

It is central to our institution's mission, values and goals to encourage students, faculty and associates to be responsible and constructive members of the global community. One of the first steps in becoming global citizens is learning the various ways in which we are interconnected and interdependent. Part of this learning process is examining the intersection of culture, economics, politics, technology, geography, history and the environment.

This term I will be teaching SOC 415 Global Social Change online. The students and I will explore the nature, extent, causes and potential solutions to selected social problems at the international level, including poverty, consumerism, population problems, human rights, violence and terrorism and threats to the environment.

Virtual Field Study

For this course, students will join me in a "virtual field study" project. Each student will create a multimedia presentation about one developing country (its unique history, geography, culture, language, etc.), one global social problem in that country and how it intersects with other problems, and how that problem is being solved (through a non-profit organization or social enterprise). At the end of the term, each student will guide classmates and professor on a "virtual field study" of their chosen country.

I wish everyone a very Happy New Year! Find videos on ProjectExplorer.org's Good Global Citizen

Exploring Identities

"All paths lead to the same goal. To convey to others what we are." --Pablo Neruda

This is our last week of the fall quarter and my students in SOC 320 Online, Gender, Race & Class, have been presenting their final Identity Power Point Projects on the Week 11 discussion board. This is the culmination of our exploration of our cultural, religious, gender, class and other group identities. Students asked themselves "Who am I? What do I value? How did I learn my values, beliefs, etc.? What are the components that make up my identity, including the varied roles I play.

Berkeley College students are highly diverse and this multicultural mosaic is reflected in the student projects. Here are some observations:

* One student is from Sweden and identifies with two cultures -- Italian culture from his father and Swedish culture from his mother and from growing up in Swedish society.

* A student who came to the U.S. from Haiti in 1997 shared aspects of her Haitian identity including how to say some common English words and phrases in Creole.

* Another of my online students came to this country from St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. A mother of two daughters and living in Georgia, she shared her childrens' experiences with prejudice.

* A young man in our class explained that his ancestors were from a region known as Circassia before the Russian conquest of Caucasus. He educated all of us about the history of Circassia and included a map in his power point. He also shared photos and descriptions of traditional Circassian foods and values from this culture with which his family identifies.

Empirical studies have demonstrated the many benefits of a diverse student population. I agree with one researcher in diversity education who has written "instructors need to give a voice to every student, to point out differences, similarities, universal and not-so-universal ideas, all of which enrich everyone's store of knowledge" (Buckelew 1991).

Works cited: Buckelew, Mary (1991) "Group Discussion Strategies for a Diverse Student Population" Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication (42nd, Boston, MA, March 21-23, 1991)

Identity Map Image from Brainstorm Communication (www.brainstorm-services.com)

Does A College Education Increase Life Expectancy?

A college education can help increase one's income, but can it also increase one's life span?

While life expectancy in the U.S. has increased over the past several decades, not all demographic groups have benefited. According to a 2008 study conducted by Harvard Medical School and Harvard University, individuals with more than 12 years of education tend to live longer than those with only a high school education or less (Science Daily).

"comparing the 1980s to the 1990s, better educated individuals experienced nearly a year and a half of increased life expectancy, while the less educated experienced only half a year. For 1990-2000, life expectancy rose an additional 1.6 years for better educated, while remaining fixed for the less educated.

In addition, when the data was broken down by gender, the researchers found that women fared worse than men. Less educated women, regardless of race, experienced a slight decline in life expectancy at age 25.

Overall in the groups studied, as of 2000, better educated at age 25 could expect to live to age 82; for less educated, 75" (Science Daily).
Another study examined specific diseases linked to the disparity between life expectancy among both racial and educational groups. According to researchers at University of California-Los Angeles, "the top six contributors of mortality differences between education levels are all smoking-related diseases" (Science Blog).

"Deaths from diseases strongly linked to smoking -- lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder -- accounted for one-fifth of the life-expectancy gap between the groups with different levels of education. That fits with other research that shows people with less education are less likely to quit smoking" (White Coat Notes).

The UCLA study also shows that four diseases -- hypertension, HIV, homicide and diabetes -- are the greatest contributors to the life-expectancy gap between blacks and whites in the U.S.

Science Blog (http://scienceblog.com/cms/causes_of_life-expectancy_gap_between_races_education_levels_idd
Science Daily 12 March 2008 (http://www.sciencedaily.com)
White Coat Notes 11 March 2008 (http://www.boston.com/news/health/blog)

Where Do You Come From?

A few years ago, I found the perfect birthday gift for my husband -- a DNA test kit from the National Geographic Genographic Project. Following simple instructions, he did a simple cheek swab (just like the T.V. show, CSI) to provide a DNA sample, put the swabs into the enclosed transport tubes, and mailed the tubes to the lab in the supplied envelope. Several weeks later, he received a report based on the analysis of his DNA and a map showing the migration of his ancestors -- from Africa through the Middle East and finally to Eastern Europe, the most recent location and birthplace of his grandparents.

According to the Genographic Project , the results "reveal your deep ancestry along a single line of direct descent (paternal or maternal) and show the migration paths they followed thousands of years ago. Your results will also place you on a particular branch of the human family tree. Some anthropological stories are more detailed than others, depending upon the lineage you belong to. For example, if you are of African descent, your results will show the initial movements of your ancestors on the African continent, but will not reflect most of the migrations that have occurred within the past 10,000 years. Your individual results may confirm your expectations of what you believe your deep ancestry to be, or you may be surprised to learn a new story about your genetic background. This is not a genealogy study. You will not learn about your great-grandparents or other recent relatives, and your DNA trail will not necessarily lead to your present-day location. Rather, your results will reveal the anthropological story of your direct maternal or paternal ancestors—where they lived and how they migrated around the world many thousands of years ago.

In this video, Dr. Spencer Wells of the Genographic Project explains the project in more detail. He takes you to Grand Central Station in New York City to meet with four strangers with different backgrounds who discover they are more similar and more connected than you might think.



For more information or to participate in the project, go to: https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/lan/en/index.html

More On Social Connections & Our Lives

In a recent post, I summarized the Pew Research Center's findings about the larger, more diverse social networks of people who use social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

As my students and I continue to discuss social groups and how they impact our lives, more scientific findings have emerged that confirm the powerful effect of "human connections" on the individual.

In their book Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives, scientists, Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler, present "compelling evidence for our profound influence on one another's tastes, health, wealth, happiness, beliefs, even weight, as they explain how social networks form and how they operate" (Connected: The Book).

Students of introductory sociology might be reminded of Emile Durkheim (1858-1917). See photo upper left. Durkheim was concerned with how societies function, more specifically, social solidarity, or what binds individuals together. A highly cohesive group can be described as one that feels united by shared beliefs, values and/or other social connections (Henslin, 2002:90).

One might wonder what Durkheim would say about these findings. Here is a video where scientists, Christakis and Fowler, talk about their book, Connections:



To read or hear an excerpt from the book and explore some interesting interactives, go to www.connectedthebook.com

Works Cited:
Connected: The Book (http://www.connectedthebook.com)
Henslin, James N. (2002) Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach
Allyn & Bacon.

Unnatural Causes: Arriving Healthy

During the past week, students in my online course, SOC 320 Gender, Race & Class, discussed the impact of inequality on physical and psychological health. To supplement the readings in the text, we viewed video clips from an excellent PBS documentary, Unnatural Causes.

One segment called "Becoming American", pointed out that "New immigrants arriving in the United States tend to be healthier than the average American, but as they remain in the country, their health declines." (Unnatural Causes).
Another interesting finding is the "Latino Paradox", "the fact that new Latino immigrants, despite having on average lower incomes and highly stressful lives, suffer lower rates of chronic and mental illness than the average native-born American." (Unnatural Causes) NOTE: See my posting on Nov. 23rd on the book Connections. Could it be that the "social connectedness" of Latino immigrant families gives them some "immunity" from mental illness?
According to Alameda County, California Public Health Director, Tony Iton, MD, "Immigrants bring to this country aspects of culture, of tradition, of tight family social networks and community social networks that essentially form a shield around them and allow them to withstand the deleterious, negative impacts of American culture" (Unnatural Causes).

Video at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkpHOwAxJkc


To view the entire episode "Becoming American" (29 minutes), click HERE.

Social Networkers Have Larger, More Diverse Personal Networks

A new study, the Pew Networks and Community Survey, conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, shows that the use of internet technology and mobile phones does not necessarily predict social isolation. In fact, people who use social networking websites, such as Facebook, tend to have larger and more diverse social networks.

Can Social Networking Make Us More Tolerant?

According to the study's author, Keith N. Hampton, Ph.D., "Those with more diverse personal networks have access to more and better information, they tend to be more trusting and more tolerant, and they tend to be physically and mentally healthier." (See Dr. Hampton's blog at http://www.mysocialnetwork.net/)

Below is a list of the study's findings, which are outlined in the executive summary of the report:

"Americans are not as isolated as has been previously reported. We find that the extent of social isolation has hardly changed since 1985, contrary to concerns that the prevalence of severe isolation has tripled since then.

.....ownership of a mobile phone and participation in a variety of internet activities are associated with larger and more diverse core discussion networks. (Discussion networks are a key measure of people’s most important social ties.)

Social media activities are associated with several beneficial social activities, including having discussion networks that are more likely to contain people from different backgrounds. For instance, frequent internet users, and those who maintain a blog are much more likely to confide in someone who is of another race. Those who share photos online are more likely to report that they discuss important matters with someone who is a member of another political party.

When we examine people’s full personal network – their strong ties and weak ties – internet use in general and use of social networking services such as Facebook in particular are associated with having a more diverse social network. Again, this flies against the notion that technology pulls people away from social engagement.

..internet users are as likely as anyone else to visit with their neighbors in person. Cell phone users, those who use the internet frequently at work, and bloggers are more likely to belong to a local voluntary association, such as a youth group or a charitable organization. However, we find some evidence that use of social networking services (e.g., Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn) substitutes for some neighborhood involvement.

Internet use does not pull people away from public places. Rather, it is associated with engagement in places such as parks, cafes, and restaurants, the kinds of locales where research shows that people are likely to encounter a wider array of people and diverse points of view.

People’s mobile phone use outpaces their use of landline phones as a primary method of staying in touch with their closest family and friends, but face-to-face contact still trumps all other methods.

Challenging the assumption that internet use encourages social contact across vast distances, we find that many internet technologies are used as much for local contact as they are for distant communication. (Pew Internet Personal Networks and Community Survey)

Source: Social Isolation and New Technology Keith Hampton, Lauren Sessions, Eun Ja Her, Lee Raine 4 November 2009 (http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/18--Social-Isolation-and-New-Technology.aspx)