History and Theories Flashcards
1
Q
why should we study its history?
A
- Eras reflect what homes and consumption were like for particular time period
- Focus was on women caring for home and family
- As homes, consumption, and roles of women changed, so did Family Resource Management
2
Q
eras
A
- era 1: 1900-1930’s
- era 2: 1940’s-early 1950’s
- era 3: 1950’s-1960’s
- era 4: 1970’s-1980’s
3
Q
Era 1 (1900-1930’s)
A
- concerned with health, sanitation, hygiene
- Household production become economic and important -> Labour-saving devices began to be created
4
Q
Era 2 (1940’s- early 1950’s)
A
- concerned with work simplification
- creation of standard work units
- 50’s = start of consumer era
5
Q
work simplification
A
- Products created to simplify work and make it more interesting
- Wanted to save time and energy and be efficient -> changed products (ie. Food products), changed equipment and space (ie. Kitchen), changed process (ie. Best position/place to do work in order to reduce fatigue… ex. Lillian Gilbreth’s work triangle kitchen)
- concerned with ergonomics
6
Q
Limits of the work triangle kitchen
A
- Assumes that a kitchen will only have 3 major work stations, yet larger kitchens will have more workspaces
- Designed for one person cooking, yet cooking is shared by more than 1 person
7
Q
today’s ergonomic concerns
A
- Repetitive injuries from computers/phones
- Occupational therapists – rehabilitation
- Ensuring elderly can age in their own home
- Design – food service, improving efficiency in the workplace
8
Q
standard work units
A
- Work unit = average amount of work one could do in an hour
- Washing clothes = x amount of work units
- Believed that if you didn’t comply with the average number of work units for each task, something was wrong
9
Q
Era 3 (1950’s-1960’s)
A
- Values goals, decisions, resources, etc. emphasized
- Management process -> Plan, control, evaluate
10
Q
Era 4 (1970’s-1980’s)
A
- creation of systems theories
- research themes: financial resources (ex. income/expenditures/finances); human/household resources (ex. time-use); well-being/quality of life
- 70’s: feminism -> mom’s worked -> started looking at dual-earner families
11
Q
systems theories
A
- Emphasizes interconnectedness and interactions among systems
- Focuses on behaviour of feedback and its complexity
- System: integrated set of parts that function together for some end purpose or result (can be living or non-living, but we focus on living – ex. families)
- Involves:
- Inputs, throughputs, outputs
- Feedback (positive – change; negative – sticking to the status quo) -> In this sense, positive doesn’t mean good, and negative doesn’t mean bad)
- Boundaries
- Interface
12
Q
inputs vs. outputs vs. throughputs
A
- Inputs: what’s brought into the system - demands, values, information, resources, energy
- Throughputs: processing of inputs - planning, implementing, decision-making, controlling, communication, facilitating
- Outputs: end results - meeting demands, achieving goals, satisfaction, altered resources
13
Q
family resource management today
A
- Systems theory: how families manage (Goldsmith model)
- Ecosystems: how families interact with micro and macro environments
- Economic theory: optimization, satisfacing, risk aversion
14
Q
systems theory terminology (interface vs. boundary)
A
- interface: place or point where independent systems or diverse groups interact (ex. point where family system interacts with school system
- boundary: limits or border between systems; permeable and flexible (may change over time); ambiguous (blended families, refugees - unknown fate of family members)
15
Q
open vs. closed families
A
- open: morphogenic systems
- open to information and influences in its environment
- adaptive to change
- permeable boundaries
- closed: morphostatic system
- closed to information and influences in its environment
- resist change
- stable boundaries
16
Q
equifinality
A
- different early experiences, same final one
- ex. one student coming from low-income family, pays her way through uni, ends up with a degree
- ex. one student coming from a high-income family, doesn’t pay her own tuition, ends up with a degree
17
Q
multifinality
A
- same early experiences, different final one
- ex. two students graduate with sociology degrees, one goes on to get a PhD and the other gets a government job
18
Q
family ecosystems
A
overlap of family organization, organisms, and environments
19
Q
ecosystem perspective
A
- ecology = study of how living things relate to natural environment
- examines family system’s interactions…
20
Q
internal changes in families
A
- shifts from role-oriented to interpersonal relationship- oriented marriages
- increasing diversity of individual choice in partner selection and retention (ex. mixed-race couples)
- smaller families
- reduction in production of goods and services at home, especially childcare and food prep
21
Q
how internal family changes influence societal systems
A
- cause changes in laws re: divorce, child support, enforcement of child support payments
- cause need for institutional means of caring for elderly and young children
- cause more demand for services to the household (ie. bigger grocery stores)
22
Q
microhabitat
A
- microenvironment
- physical (ex. your city)
- social (ex. neighbours)
23
Q
macrohabitat
A
- macroenvironment
- societal systems (sociocultural, political, economic, technological)
- natural/structured (physical, biological, human-made)
24
Q
early years of management -> milestones
A
- Management has existed since the beginning of civilization
- Homes were simple, water was brought in from wells
- Mail delivery began
- People began to own clocks
- First household management textbook: Principles of Household Management and Cookery (1879)
- Ellen H. Richards founded home economics movement
- Lillian Gilbreth (work-saving methods – ex. Efficiency desk, kitchens) and Christine Federick (model kitchen, women as consumers)
- Colleges eventually started to study it
25
Q
household production/consumption systems - 3 eras
A
- 1 – Premodern (early 1900s)
- 2 – Modern (1950’s-1990s)
- 3 – Post-modern (early 21st century)
26
Q
Premodern (early 1900s)
A
- Families made their own clothes, food, and household cleaning products
- Bought basics (ie. Soap, flour)
- Household work difficult and labourous, no/limited indoor pluming, limited electricity
- Servants used
- Home delivery common
27
Q
Modern (1950’s-1990’s)
A
- Families bought most food, clothes, and cleaning products
- Household work labourous but aided by machines
- Indoor plumbing and electricity common
- Servants less common
- Home delivery less common
28
Q
Post-modern (early 21st century)
A
- Families began online shopping, still buy food, clothes; go to restaurants for meals
- Household work mostly machine-aided and less arduous
- Electricy and indoor plumbing normal
- No servants – but child-care centers and cleaning services
- Home delivery expands due to online shopping
29
Q
theory (and its function and aspects)
A
- organized system of ideas or beliefs that can be measured; system of assumptions or principles
- Function: organized observations and other info so people can make sense of it
- Aspects: predicting behaviour and controlling behaviour (things people do to check their course of action)
30
Q
hypotheses
A
predictions about future occurrences
31
Q
subsystem
A
- part of larger system
- Ex. Individuals are subsystems of communities, communities are subsystems of countries, etc.
32
Q
transformations
A
transitions from one system to another
33
Q
demands
A
event or goal that requires fufilment
34
Q
sequencing
A
when one thing follows another in a series of events -> ensures successful outcome
35
Q
feedback loop
A
Assess current situation -> establish objectives/goals -> develop plans -> implement plans -> monitor results -> provide feedback
36
Q
entropy and equilibrium
A
- Entropy: tendency towards disorder and randomness
- More likely in a closed system
- Equilibrium: adjusting itself to put things back to the way they were
- Systems have a tendency towards equilibrium
37
Q
Murphy’s Law
A
if something can go wrong, it will
38
Q
the personal system (goal and what it’s composed of)
A
- Goal: recognize and make productive the specific strengths and abilities of each individual
- Each person composed of systems like:
- Biological/physiological
- Behavioural
- Psychological
- Social
39
Q
family systems theory and management
A
- Assumes that families share goals and work together to achieve them
- Allows one to understand how families are organized and which interactive patterns guide their interactions
- Families organize themselves to carry out daily challenges/tasks and to adjust to the needs of its members
40
Q
application of systems theory to households
A
Inputs/outputs/throughputs can be applied to both simple and complex family tasks (ex. Laundry – simple; meal prep – complex)
41
Q
ecology vs. human ecology
A
- Ecology: how living things relate to their natural environment
- Human ecology: humans interacting their their environment
42
Q
environment (including micro and macro)
A
- Environment: all-encompassing external conditions influencing life of an organism of population
- Microenvironment/microhabitat/near environment: environment that closely surrounds individuals/families (apartments, classrooms)
- Macroenvironment/macrohabitat/far environment: surrounds and encompasses microenvironment (sky, trees, oceans)
43
Q
family ecosystem (and its 3 elements)
A
- Subsystem of human ecology that emphasizes the interactions between family and environments – a change in a single component influences other parts
- Related to social exchange theory (focuses on trading individual resources)
- 3 elements:
- Organisms (family members)
- Environments (natural and human-built)
- Family organization (functions to transform energy in the form of info into family decisions and actions)
44
Q
global ecosystems
A
encompass all family ecosystems and are regulated by interactive physical, social, political, economic, chemical, and biological processes
45
Q
8 things economic theory is based on
A
- Use of scarce resources is costly – trade-offs must be made
- Individuals choose purposefully, trying to get most from limited resources
- Incentives matter
- Individuals focus on difference in costs and benefits between alternatives
- Info can be scarce and is costly to acquire
- Actions may generate second effects (decisions have consequences)
- Preferences vary between individuals/value is subjective
- Theory is useful in making predictions
46
Q
optimization vs. satisficing
A
- subsets of economic theory
- Optimization: obtaining the best result
- Satisficing: picking the first good alternative that presents itself so that an indivdual stops searching once it appears the initial choice will suffice -> Strategy makes sense when time and choice are limited
47
Q
risk (and risk aversion)
A
- possibility of experiencing harm, danger, or suffering (not always physical – can be financial)
- Not all risks are bad
- People can be risk-averse, risk-loving, or risk-neutral
- Risk aversion: avoiding risk
48
Q
risks that affect decision-making
A
- Functional or performance risk: possibility that a choice may not turn out as desired or have the expected benefits
- Financial risk: possibility that substantial amounts of money may be lost
- Physical risk: the possibility that harm may come from a choice
- Psychological risk: possibility that a choice may damage a persons image of self or self-esteem
- Social risk: possibility that a choice may not be approved by others or may cause social embarrassment or rejection
- Time risk: possibility that the ability to satisfy wants will decline over time. In economics, it’s assumed that a cunsumer would nealry always prefer to receive a good or service now rather than later
