Theorising Sleep Practices and Later Life: Moving to Sheltered Housing

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 214-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen Fairhurst

This paper re-analyses data from a study of older people and sheltered housing which combined textual analysis of professional discourse with interviews. There were only two references salient to ‘sleep’ in that paper and I offered no analytic comment upon them. At that time, then, sleep as a sociologically interesting topic, was, for me a taken for granted matter. It is that taken for grantedness that is examined here. On being invited to contribute to this special issue, I went back to the original data and interrogated it for ‘sleep’. I realised that, with this different concern, the texts and interviews contained much more about the ‘doing’ of sleep in later life than I had appreciated, especially where, when and how sleeping practices occur. Sleeping ‘upstairs’ or ‘downstairs’, in a single- or double-bed and on which side of the bed were all matters of relevance when older people were considering a move to sheltered housing. Older people's own sleeping practices are contrasted with those offered in texts produced by architects designing sheltered housing. The paper concludes by considering the methodological implications of re-analysing research materials for emerging sociological topics and by giving pointers to future research on sleep practices in later life.

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheila J. Gewolb

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how older workers and people who have already retired speak about ageing and change and their experience of retirement. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative study is described in which focus groups with older workers and semi-structured interviews with retired people were carried out. The recorded data were analysed using a linguistic approach (Discourse Analysis), which investigates in detail how people express their views and opinions and how their discourse might relate to societal attitudes towards ageing and retirement. Findings – Many older people who were still at work were concerned that they would decline and become senile once they retired unless they could remain active in some way. This was confirmed by people who had already retired and who spoke about how keeping busy and active had resulted in successful retirement and ageing. Research limitations/implications – Participants from four focus groups and five interview respondents represent only a small sample of older people who are still working or who are retired. This means that the results of this study cannot be extended to include all older workers and retired people. Social implications – This study will help to raise awareness of the concerns of older workers who may be nearing retirement, and how keeping busy and active after leaving work is considered by retirees to be part of successful retirement and helping to combat decline. Originality/value – A study of this nature which examines how older workers express their views about retirement using Discourse Analysis is original and may be used as a method for future research into other aspects of being older at work.


2011 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 719-733 ◽  
Author(s):  
TIM SCHWANEN ◽  
FRIEDERIKE ZIEGLER

ABSTRACTThis paper introduces the theme of the special issue on wellbeing, independence and mobility. We begin with outlining the complexity of each of these notions and then turn towards their interdependence. It is argued that the links between wellbeing, independence and mobility are manifold and contextual in older people's everyday lives: they differ between places, between individuals and across phases in each individual's unique lifecourse. The inherent complexity of those links can be examined fruitfully and understood better if a geographical or environmental analytical perspective is adopted. We also suggest that the interdependence of wellbeing, independence and mobility in later life needs to be understood in the context of neo-liberal governmentality and the creation of particular ways of being and acting for older people. The piece concludes with a brief description of the papers brought together in the special issue.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Canham ◽  
Joe Humphries ◽  
Piper Moore ◽  
Victoria Burns ◽  
Atiya Mahmood

Abstract While experiences of later-life homelessness are known to vary, classification of shelter, housing and service models that meet the diverse needs of older people with experiences of homelessness (OPEH) are limited. To address this gap, a scoping review was conducted of shelter/housing options, supports and interventions for OPEH. Fourteen databases were searched for English-language peer-reviewed and/or empirical literature published between 1999 and 2019, resulting in the inclusion of 22 sources. Through a collaborative, iterative process of reading, discussing and coding, data extracted from the studies were organised into six models: (1) long-term care, (2) permanent supportive housing (PSH), including PSH delivered through Housing First, (3) supported housing, (4) transitional housing, (5) emergency shelter settings with health and social supports, and (6) case management and outreach. Programme descriptions and OPEH outcomes are described and contribute to our understanding that multiple shelter/housing options are needed to support diverse OPEH. The categorised models are considered alongside existing ‘ageing in place’ research, which largely focuses on older adults who are housed. Through extending discussions of ageing in the ‘right’ place to diverse OPEH, additional considerations are offered. Future research should explore distinct sub-populations of OPEH and how individual-level supports for ageing in place must attend to mezzo- and macro-level systems and policies.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 122-123
Author(s):  
Rachel Weldrick

Abstract Existing research has identified significant risk factors for experiencing social isolation in later life including chronic health conditions, mobility impairments, and living alone among others. Although many older people who live alone maintain active social lives, living alone remains a top predictor of social isolation. Less is known about other types of risk factors, such as place-based risks and social exclusion. Despite calls to examine the role of place and social exclusion in social isolation risk, few studies have investigated the links. Models of isolation risk have often omitted place-based factors and social exclusion and focused largely on individual-level risks. In order to address these gaps, this paper presents the findings of 17 in-depth, qualitative interviews with community-dwelling older people who live alone (aged 65-93). Participants were recruited using a theoretical sampling strategy to ensure that a diverse range of neighbourhood types were represented among the participants (e.g., walkable vs. car-dependent neighbourhoods). Interview transcripts were analyzed using a constructivist grounded approach resulting in several major themes. Participants described aspects of their local environments as shaping their risk of isolation including infrastructure and amenities delivered in place, and neighbourhood makeup, among others. These themes are further examined through the lens of place-based exclusion and used to conceptualize how dimensions of both place and social exclusion fit into the model of known isolation risk factors. An adapted model of risk is presented to guide future research and intervention planning.


2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 683-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen West ◽  
Catherine Needham

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the current policy of extending personal budgets to older people. Design/methodology/approach In developing this explanation, the paper draws upon a species of de-centred, post-foundationalist theory which draws attention to the way in which certain narratives can sustain a longing for the implementation of policies that are ultimately unachievable. The paper also draws upon original data from an evaluation of a national ageing charity’s project to increase take-up of personal budgets. Findings The paper draws attention to, and seeks to explain, the paradoxical discursive positioning of older adults as “the unexceptional exception” within the general narrative of universal personalisation. Research limitations/implications This analytical approach can secure a different vantage point in this debate by paying closer attention to the ideological and ethical dimensions of personalisation than has been the case until now. Practical implications The paper contributes to the critical interrogation of the personalisation agenda, in which debate (both in academic and practitioner circles) has become highly polarised. Social implications The paper contributes to discussions in critical social gerontology which point to a bifurcation of later life into, on the one hand, an ageless third age and a frailed fourth age, on the other. Originality/value The paper makes clear that the discursive positioning of older people as “the unexceptional exception” risks an inadvertent ageism.


2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 567-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah Bows

Aging and sexual violence are both established areas of research, but little attention has been paid to research into sexual violence against older people. This article presents a critical review of the literature reporting empirical research in three overlapping fields of inquiry: elder abuse, domestic violence, and sexual violence, identifying points of theoretical and methodological similarity and difference across academic disciplines. Using a range of search terms combining age, sexual violence, and elder abuse, the following databases were searched: EBSCOHOST, Ingenta-Ingenta connect, and JSTOR. In total, the databases searches returned 31 relevant articles and an additional 9 relevant articles were found through manual searches of bibliographies and Google searches, which were grouped into three categories: elder abuse, domestic violence in later life, and sexual violence against older people. Four themes common across these fields emerged: prevalence, characteristics of victims and risk factors, impacts and coping strategies, and perpetrator and assault characteristics. The findings in each area are discussed in detail, exposing gaps in knowledge and understandings of sexual violence against older women. The article ends by defining a future research agenda for this underexplored phenomenon that is of increasing importance in a context of global aging.


GeroPsych ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva-Marie Kessler ◽  
Catherine E. Bowen

Both psychotherapists and their clients have mental representations of old age and the aging process. In this conceptual review, we draw on available research from gerontology, social and developmental psychology, and communication science to consider how these “images of aging” may affect the psychotherapeutic process with older clients. On the basis of selected empirical findings we hypothesize that such images may affect the pathways to psychotherapy in later life, therapist-client communication, client performance on diagnostic tests as well as how therapists select and apply a therapeutic method. We posit that interventions to help both older clients and therapists to reflect on their own images of aging may increase the likelihood of successful treatment. We conclude by making suggestions for future research.


Author(s):  
Endy Gunanto ◽  
Yenni Kurnia Gusti

In this article we present a conceptual of the effect of cross culture on consumer behavior incorporating the impact of globalization. This conceptual idea shows that culture inûuences various domains of consumer behavior directly as well as through international organization to implement marketing strategy. The conceptual identify several factors such as norm and value in the community, several variables and also depicts the impact of other environmental factors and marketing strategy elements on consumer behavior. We also identify categories of consumer culture orientation resulting from globalization. Highlights of each of the several other articles included in this special issue in Asia region. We conclude with the contributions of the articles in terms of the consumer cultural orientations and identify directions for future research.


2021 ◽  
pp. 194277862110242
Author(s):  
Terrell Carver

The bicentenary of Engels’s birth in 1820 is an occasion for assessing his works as received by geographers. This Afterword to the special issue draws on Terrell Carver’s recent researches into Engels’s political activities and associations, beginning with his schooldays in Wuppertal, focusing on his Anglo-German journalism, continuing through his political partnership with Marx, and extending after the latter’s death into later life in London. The article demonstrates the value of close contextual attention to the precise character of the political regimes which Engels struggled to change. This approach also reveals the Marx-centric terms through which Engels has been understood, thus undervaluing many of his achievements. Concluding speculatively, it is possible to glimpse in Engels’s thought a geography of space-time, where capitalism is an Einsteinian warp.


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