Browsing by Subject "caregiving"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Central Indiana Senior Fund State of Aging in Central Indiana Report (SoAR) Newsletter No. 1
    (The Polis Center, Indiana University at Indianapolis, 2022-11) The Polis Center
    Older adults are the fastest growing demographic in Central Indiana. Approximately 20,000 individuals in Central Indiana reach the age of 60 every year. By the year 2030, one in every five residents will be over the age of 65. To enhance the ability of older adults to live and thrive in Central Indiana, it is important to understand the population trends and basic needs of the growing older adult demographic. The Central Indiana Senior Fund is partnering with The Polis Center at IUPUI to develop the State of Aging in Central Indiana Report, a trusted source of information about Central Indiana’s older adult population.
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    Explaining Society: An Expanded Toolbox for Social Scientists
    (2012-03) Bell, David C; Atkinson-Schnell, Jodie L; DiBacco, Aron E
    We propose for social scientists a theoretical toolbox containing a set of motivations that neurobiologists have recently validated. We show how these motivations can be used to create a theory of society recognizably similar to existing stable societies (sustainable, self-reproducing, and largely peaceful). Using this toolbox, we describe society in terms of three institutions: economy (a source of sustainability), government (peace), and the family (reproducibility). Conducting a thought experiment in three parts, we begin with a simple theory with only two motivations. We then create successive theories that systematically add motivations, showing that each element in the toolbox makes its own contribution to explain the workings of a stable society and that the family has a critical role in this process.
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    Parenting and Beyond: Common Neurocircuits Underlying Parental and Altruistic Caregiving
    (2012-04-01) Swain, James E.; Konrath, Sara H.; Brown, Stephanie L.; Finegood, Eric D.; Akce, Leyla B.; Dayton, Carolyn J.; Ho, S. Shaun
    Interpersonal relationships constitute the foundation on which human society is based. The infant–caregiver bond is the earliest and most influential of these relationships. Driven by evolutionary pressure for survival, parents feel compelled to provide care to their biological offspring. However, compassion for non-kin is also ubiquitous in human societies, motivating individuals to suppress their own self-interests to promote the well-being of non-kin members of the society. We argue that the process of early kinship-selective parental care provides the foundation for non-exclusive altruism via the activation of a general Caregiving System that regulates compassion in any of its forms. We propose a tripartite structure of this system that includes (1) the perception of need in another, (2) a caring motivational or feeling state, and (3) the delivery of a helping response to the individual in need. Findings from human and animal research point to specific neurobiological mechanisms including activation of the insula and the secretion of oxytocin that support the adaptive functioning of this Caregiving System.
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    Who Cares for the Kids? Parenting and Caregiving in Disney Films
    (Sage, 2015-12) Holcomb, Jeanne; Latham, Kenzie; Fernandez-Baca, Daniel; Department of Sociology, School of Liberal Arts
    Disney is recognized as producing powerful cultural products that make major contributions to many forms of children’s media. While it has been suggested that mothers are marginalized in Disney films, there has been no extensive research exploring alternate caregivers, including other-parents. Given the minimal roles of mothers in Disney films and the cultural relevance of biological mothers as primary caregivers, we ask “who cares for the kids?” in these carefully crafted family films with adolescent protagonists. Utilizing a feminist approach, this study explores narrative subtexts surrounding parenting and caregiving by systematically examining feature-length, animated Disney films. A sample of 15 films was analyzed; the films were purposefully sampled using specific family-related criteria. Results reiterate that mothers are marginalized either through their absence or their relatively minor roles. However, fathers and other-parents are significant caregivers in the majority of the films. The use of created kinship was particularly striking.