Bodily attachment to place: The case of elderly migrants in Norway

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrine Mellingen Bjerke
Author(s):  
Frank Graziano

Historic Churches of New Mexico Today is an interpretive ethnography based on fieldwork among hispanic villagers, Pueblo Indians, and Mescalero Apaches. The fieldwork was reinforced by extensive research in archives and in previous scholarship. The book presents scholarly interpretations in prose that is accessible, often narrative, at times lyrical, and crafted to convey the experience of researching in New Mexican villages. Descriptive guide information and directions to remote historic churches are provided. Themes treated in the book include the interactions of past and present, the decline of traditions, a sense of place and attachment to place, the church as a cultural legacy, the church in relation to native traditions, resistance to Catholicism, tensions between priests and congregations, maintenance and restoration of historic buildings, and, in general, how the church as a place and devotion as a practice are important (or not) to the identities and everyday lives of individuals and communities. Among many others, the historic churches discussed in the study include the Santuario de Chimayó, San José de Gracia in Las Trampas, San Francisco de Asís in Ranchos de Taos, the village churches of Mora County, St. Joseph Apache Mission in Mescalero, and the mission churches at Laguna, Acoma, and Picurís Pueblos.


Author(s):  
Yi Hua ◽  
Zhi Qiu ◽  
Wenjing Luo ◽  
Yue Wang ◽  
Zhu Wang

Building concentrated resettlement community in small towns is mostly used to deal with resettlement construction for rural migrants in economically developed regions in China, which leads to migrants’ living environment changing from rural settlements where production and living are intertwined to an urban community that only supports living functions. However, the urbanized environment is contrary to elderly migrants’ behavior, resulting in contradictions or conflicts between migrants and resettlement communities, reflecting a lack of urbanization synchronization between migrants and resettlement community environments. Further, elderly migrants are also equipped with different degrees and types of urbanization characteristics, thus reflecting different abilities to adapt to the urban community environment. Based on the corresponding relationship between people’s different production and living needs and urbanization, this research starts by investigating the production and living needs of elderly migrants, and further clarifies the environmental adaptability of elderly migrants by sorting the types and characteristics of urbanization of elderly migrants to provide a reference basis for the planning and construction of future resettlement areas. The research uses questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to investigate the population attributes and characteristics of elderly migrants, as well as their different needs for production and living. The research uses hierarchical cluster analysis, the one-way ANOVA test and Chi-square test to constructed a four-quadrant model on human urbanization features: an Urban Group with both living and production urbanized (Group H-H); a Half-urban-half-rural Group with only living needs urbanized (Group H-L); a Half-urban-Half-rural Group with only production needs urbanized (Group L-H); and a Rural group with both living and production needs not urbanized (Group L-L). Finally, based on the results, this research proposed three elderly environment construction orientations of “Promote the Supply Level of Urban Public Services”, “Create a Place That Embodies the Spirit of Immigrants’ Homeland”, and “Moderate Consideration of Agricultural Production Needs” for residential planning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne D. Worsley ◽  
Paula Harrison ◽  
Rhiannon Corcoran

Abstract Background Due to the increasing concern over student mental health and wellbeing, attention has turned to the matter of creating environments, communities, and institutions which enable students to flourish. Methods To explore the role of accommodation environments in first year student mental health and wellbeing, eight focus groups were conducted in two universities in North West England and analysed using thematic analysis. Results Three overarching themes were identified: ‘The betwixt space’; ‘Accommodations as vessels to cultivate friendships and communities’; and ‘The importance of accommodation-based pastoral staff’. As attachment to place and relationships with significant others are disrupted by the transition, this leaves young people vulnerable whilst they go through a process to re-attach to new people and a new environment, and loneliness and social isolation were keenly felt during this period. Physical attributes of place that prevent social cohesion further exacerbated feelings of loneliness. Conclusions As it is common for students to withdraw physically and psychologically when they do not form friendships within their flat, accommodation-based pastoral staff have an important role to fulfil. Although these findings demonstrate the importance of the human element within accommodation, designing places that facilitate community, a sense of we-ness, and belonging is crucial.


Author(s):  
Chengxu Long ◽  
Ruoxi Wang ◽  
Da Feng ◽  
Lu Ji ◽  
Zhanchun Feng ◽  
...  

Background: Due to the household registration system, Chinese elderly migrants have insufficient access to health services and social support. Thus, this study examined the use of health services, the access to social support, and the interaction among the elderly migrating within China. Methods: Data were obtained from the China Migrant Dynamic Monitoring Survey in 2015, adopting probability proportionate to size as the sampling strategy. Structural equation modeling and mediating effect tests were employed to explore the associations. Results: Approximately 45.9% of elderly migrants did not seek health services when needed. The use of outpatient and inpatient services was more common than free essential public health services. The use of health services was negatively associated with migrating duration and migrating for offspring, while it was positively associated with outer social support. The mediating effects of outer social support were discovered on the relationships between the use of health services and independent variables such as migrating duration and migrating for offspring, respectively. Conclusion: Elderly migrants with a longer migrating duration or migrated for offspring seem to obtain less outer social support, resulting in a decreased use of health services. Outer social support was suggested as a key effort to improve the equalization of health services in Chinese elderly migrants.


2009 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 664-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine L. Wiles ◽  
Ruth E.S. Allen ◽  
Anthea J. Palmer ◽  
Karen J. Hayman ◽  
Sally Keeling ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 859-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
LOUISE MEIJERING ◽  
DEBBIE LAGER

ABSTRACTA group of 141,345 immigrants from the Netherlands Antilles, a former colony, live in the Netherlands. An increasing number of these migrants are at or above retirement age, and for them, the question of where they want to grow old becomes relevant. It is important for people to age in a place where they feel at home, as attachment to place increases wellbeing in old age. In this article we discuss how older Antillean migrants in the Netherlands make their house and immediate living environment into a home. We focus on home-making practices in a broader cultural context, and in relation to wellbeing. These topics are addressed by drawing on qualitative life-history interviews with Antillean older people, who live in a co-housing community for older adults. It turns out that objects which remind the participants of their home country play an important role in making a home. Also, the community, with people from similar backgrounds, contributes to a sense of home. Finally, the presence of children and other family members is a key motivation for the participants' decision to age in the Netherlands.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 254-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nwamaka Okeke-Ogbuafor ◽  
Tim Gray ◽  
Selina Stead

Purpose This paper aims to understand what two apparently contrasting concepts of communality and place attachment say about the quality of community life in the Niger Delta. Design/methodology/approach The research for this paper relied on extensive qualitative and quantitative data: qualitative data were collected from five oil-rich and three oil-poor communities across Ogoniland, while quantitative data were collected from four of these communities. Thematic content analysis was used to interpret the qualitative data, while the quantitative data were analysed through Excel. Findings Most participants from both oil-rich and oil-poor communities strongly reject a social sense of communality and strongly endorse a geographical sense of place. Practical implications The wider implication of this finding is that proponents of community development (CD) have a choice between either the cynical option of noting that Ogoni’s strong sense of place means that they will tolerate limited CD, or the noble option of noting that Ogoni’s strong sense of place is a solid foundation on which to build sustainable CD by empowering citizens to create their own future. Originality/value The originality of this study is twofold. First, it shows the complexity of people’s sense of community encompassing widely different and possibly contradictory elements. Second, it reveals the strength and persistence of people’s attachment to place despite its physical shortcomings.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annabel Childs

<p><b>The consequence of homogenised place is becoming a growing concern across New Zealand’s built environment (Najafi, 2011). In a time where placelessness, sameness and architectural standardization threaten the concept of spatial identity, there is an opportunity to research further into how we can design to maintain cultural and spatial differentiation within New Zealand’s cities.</b></p> <p>Wellington City is New Zealand’s capital, it is an old city with copious layers of topographic and environmental depth. With the harbour water and undulating terrain greatly contributing to the city’s identity, the somewhat disenfranchised population that occupy Wellingtons Streets are lacking this connection to place. This research is looking to defend the notion of a bounded place through reinterpreting our architectural identity. This research searches for continuity in the face of change, where takings from the environment’s past and present will come together to create one unified future identity.</p> <p>This thesis investigates design opportunities within Wellington’s Civic square, design explorations and interventions seek to encourage and foster a rich sense of attachment to place. Architectural qualities are used as tools, with which to think through and create connections around which people actively create identities. The final design outcome aims to facilitate discussion of those qualities of public space that encourage and sustain concern for Wellington’s social identity and its contribution to a sense of place.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-183
Author(s):  
Arun Kumar Acharya

AbstractIn this paper, an attempt has been made to analyse how the violence and abuse against elderly migrants in Monterrey, Mexico affects their health. For this research, 257 elderly Mexican migrants were surveyed in the Metropolitan Area of Monterrey during 2012 through 2013. The study found that the majority of elderly people migrate to urban areas in search of a better economic opportunity. Once in the city, they are absorbed into the informal economic sectors. Results indicate that most of these elderly people suffer physical, sexual and psychological violence, as well as neglect and financial abuse from their employer, relatives, clients and pedestrians, which has an adverse effect on their health. Elderly migrants reported numerous health problems, where many of them were suffering from different types of injuries, stress and depression, among others. This paper concluded that violence suffered by elderly migrants has a significant impact on their health.


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