Wiles Allen (2010) Embodied ageing in place (original) (raw)

Research Methods in Health Humanities, 2019

Learning Objectives After reading this chapter, readers will be able to: 1. Understand the embodied conditions of age and disability as identity categories, and ageism and ableism as forms of prejudice related to these identity categories. 2. Analyze cultural representations of old age and disability through inquiry into narrative forms and identities. 3. Adopt a social model approach to identify structural obstacles that limit options for old and disabled people.

Designing landscapes of affordances for ageing in place

Geographica Helvetica, 2025

This paper aims to contribute theoretically, methodologically, and empirically to research and interventions regarding ageing in place. Theoretically, the paper contributes by drawing on the literature on landscapes of care and landscapes of affordances to suggest a multiscalar and more-than-human approach to ageing in place. Methodologically, we argue that studying ageing in place requires a participatory and translational methodology. Participatory methods are, on one hand, a prerequisite for an understanding of how older adults live their daily lives and particularly use a "landscape of affordances" in their social and material environment. A translational process, on the other hand, is necessary to elaborate research results incrementally across the different stages that lead to interventions on the ground. Finally, empirically, we draw on results of a study based on go-along interviews, photographic observations, and biographic interviews. In its empirical part, our paper describes the difficulties and gains of the different aspects of this participatory and translational process. In summary, the paper both develops the conceptual underpinnings of "ageing in place" and informs the methodologies of applied research in this domain.

Exploring Intersections of Aging and Disability through the " Greying " of Disability Studies

Despite the proliferation of disability studies as a field, old disabled people remain at the margins of scholarship, pedagogy, and activism. In disability studies, old age frequently serves as little more than a marker for the eventuality or promise of disability (Davis, 2003; Shakespeare & Watson, 2001; Wendell, 1996). Furthermore, although disability studies scholars often cite the statistic that disabled people comprise 20% of the population and are thus the largest minority group in the United States, they rarely acknowledge that old people are included in this figure (Garland-Thomson, 2005). As Priestley (2003) observed, the generational or life course context of impairment and disability has continued to be overlooked. In this paper, I argue that old disabled people must be considered and included in disability studies, and call for the “greying” of critical disability studies. Greying, as it refers to a group, typically means to age or grow old. The term is often used to refer to a population that is increasingly comprised of old people, such as the greying of the disabled population (Kahuna, Kahuna, & Lovegreen, 2011). However, I am using greying as a way to consider how critical disability studies might develop, grow, and mature through explorations of the intersections between aging and disability. First, I examine why the greying of critical disability studies is necessary by considering possible reasons the study of age and the study of disability have remained, for the most part, on parallel paths. Then, I explore three possible ways to grey critical disability studies: (a) analyze how discourses and experiences of aging and disability intersect, (b) engage with theories of aging, and (c) center old disabled people in scholarship, pedagogy, and activism. Lastly, I conclude with a reflection of why greying critical disability studies is important for the future of the field.

Disability and Aging Studies: Obstacles and Opportunities

The Disability Bioethics Reader, 2022

Stigmatization of disabled people has influenced many older people to resist identifying as disabled despite facing some of the same social injustices and physical limitations. These groups would benefit from recognizing this overlap and working in solidarity. This chapter creatively combines insights from disability and age studies to examine the concept of "successful aging," assumptions about quality of life, and advance directives for people diagnosed with dementia. It offers a framework to better understand and reflect upon late life and the ability transitions it invariably occasions.

Embodiment in old age

Horyzonty Wychowania, 2023

This article presents embodiment in relation to four areas of human agency. The findings are part of a larger project on learning to be old. The main research problem is understanding how strategies, actions, and attitudes toward one’s body differ among the study participants in various agency areas. The study is based on a constructivist paradigm and grounded theory methodology. Four fields of the agency have been presented on a continuum, where on one side, forces are pushing a person towards dependence, while on the other side, there is the individual’s independence. These areas were identified during the analysis of empirical data and allow for a departure from judgmental approaches to aging, serving as model areas for the functioning of an older adult . These areas were used to reflect on the embodiment of older people. Finally, the embodiment category was placed within broader structures such as dis courses, concepts, and theoretical knowledge about aging and getting old. The findings indicate the multidimensional nature of the aging body. Different strategies, actions, and attitudes towards one’s embodiment are activated depending on the individual’s life situation and social position. Embodiment occupies a special place in learning to be old. It is one of the primary regulators of this process. As it turns out, self-identification is primarily related to the body. Furthermore, the findings of this study allow moving away from a narrow understanding of aging as physical deterioration and decay.

The Meaning of "Aging in Place" to Older People

The Gerontologist, 2012

Purpose: This study illuminates the concept of "aging in place" in terms of functional, symbolic, and emotional attachments and meanings of homes, neighbourhoods, and communities. It investigates how older people understand the meaning of "aging in place," a term widely used in aging policy and research but underexplored with older people themselves. Design and Methods: Older people (n = 121), ranging in age from 56 to 92 years, participated in focus groups and interviews in 2 case study communities of similar size in Aotearoa New Zealand, both with high ratings on deprivation indices. The question, "What is the ideal place to grow older?" was explored, including reflections on aging in place. Thematic and narrative analyses on the meaning of aging in place are presented in this paper. Results: Older people want choices about where and how they age in place. "Aging in place" was seen as an advantage in terms of a sense of attachment or connection and feelings of security and familiarity in relation to both homes and communities. Aging in place related to a sense of identity both through independence and autonomy and through caring relationships and roles in the places people live. Implications: Aging in place operates in multiple interacting ways, which need to be taken into account in both policy and research. The meanings of aging in place for older people have pragmatic implications beyond internal "feel good" aspects and operate interactively far beyond the "home" or housing.

Aging and disability: Behind and beyond the stereotypes

Journal of Aging Studies, 1990

The new emphasis on healthy or "successful" aging, while a refresning contrast to the "decline and loss" paradigm, is problematic as well. In particular, the newer paradigm is seen as reinforcing the "elderly mystique, " or prejudice against disabled elders. This article examines several alternative visions of aging and disability and their implicutions for policy, with particular attention to the "compression of morbidity" thesis. The social construction of aging and disability then is explored, as are historical patterns in our thinking about "good" and "bad" old age, as these influence current attitudes and practices.