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Women perform the majority of household labour in many families around the world. However, the unequal division of household labour does not lead to dissatisfaction among women. In the present study, the author introduced the intergenerational household assistance to understand married women’s and men’s satisfaction with division of household labour in China, in addition to three major theoretical perspectives in studies of western families (i.e., relative resources, time availability, and gender role ideology). Logistic regression analyses on a nationally representative dataset (the Second Wave Survey of Chinese Women’s Social Status) were performed to study this topic. Consistent with studies in the West, the results show that relative resources, time availability, and gender ideology were associated with married Chinese women’s satisfaction, while married Chinese men’s satisfaction was only associated with time availability (the household labour done by them and their wives). Importantly, married women with parents-in-law’s household assistance tend to be more satisfied than those with help from their parents. The findings demonstrate that Chinese marriages are intertwined with intergenerational relationships and suggest that it is important to take into account of the influence of intergenerational relationships in studies of Chinese marriages.

Drawing on accounts from 22 lesbian couples with children conceived using donor insemination, this chapter explores how the respondents’ selection of parent terms, such as “momma” and “mommy,” influences day-to-day negotiation of parenthood. Term selection was affected by personal meanings respondents associated with terms as well as how they anticipated terms would be publicly received. Couples utilized personalized meanings associated with terms, such as terms used by families of origin or reflected in a parent’s cultural background, to help non-biological mothers feel comfortable and secure in their parenting identities. Some families also avoided terms that non-biological mothers associated too strongly with biological motherhood and felt uncomfortable using for themselves. Families also considered whether parent terms, and subsequently their relationships to their children, would be recognizable to strangers or cause undue scrutiny to their family. However, not all of the families selected terms that were easily decipherable by strangers and had to negotiate moments in which the personal meanings and public legibility of terms came into conflict. Overall, these accounts illustrate the importance of parent terms for lesbian-parent families, and other nontraditional families, as a family practice negotiating both deeply personal meanings surrounding parent–child relationships and how these terms, and the families, are normatively recognizable in public spaces.

Research on organizational change and development is limited in how it addresses the processes that encompass change initiatives. In this chapter, we explore one dimension of these processes, the ways that research frames relationships between planned and emergent organizational change. We discuss five ways in which organization development (OD) research has addressed dichotomies between planned emergent change: separation, selection, integration, transcendence, and connection. We suggest that the most effective approach for considering this dichotomy is likely to be one that connects planned and emergent change over time. We further suggest that a means by which connection can usefully be created is through attention to a transient outcome of change attempts, the vitality associated with a change initiative at any moment. We present an example of how a connection frame was utilized in an extended research project. We also suggest an analytic framework and specific research methods consistent with a connection frame. In doing so, we suggest how the adoption of a connection frame by OD researchers and practitioners may lead to a more complete picture of organizational change.

The transition to motherhood has been studied extensively, but primarily among participants in homogenous race/ethnicity relationships. The aim of the current study was to explore the lived experiences of a diverse group of women in biracial and monoracial relationships experiencing the transition to motherhood (e.g., biracial or monoracial motherhood). Informed by the symbolic interaction framework, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted to investigate the expectations and experiences of first-time motherhood on a sample of 12 U.S. women. Their diverse stories contained multiple themes including an overarching theme of racial/ethnic differences in appropriate infant care, which surfaces during engagement in family and social support interactions. This analysis emphasizes the need for more diverse portrayals of motherhood. We discuss our findings in light of the literature and implications for future research and practice.

In 2018, Ontario regulations pertaining to principal and vice-principal performance appraisals were amended in order to explicitly require that principles of human rights and equity (1) be upheld in Performance Plan goals regarding student achievement and well-being and (2) be a focus of leadership competency development in their Annual Growth Plan. These changes were instituted to support the stated aim of identifying and addressing systemic barriers and biases. For these measures to lead to systemic change rather than mere “performative” equity exercises, those in supervisory roles require a relevant framework to guide and support this aspect of the professional development and performance of principals and vice-principals. Existing provincial educational leadership frameworks are limited in this respect. This chapter draws on foundations in Adult Development to propose how fostering an expanding capacity to hold complexity is key to socially-just leadership and the sought-after systemic change.

Ethnographic interviews are often favoured when examining sensitive issues, such as patients' accounts of their illness experiences. This type of interview enables the researcher to get a deeper (some would argue possibly better) understanding of the experiences that interviewees are recounting, relying on the interviewee to drive the focus of the conversation rather than the researcher determining what is discussed and shared.