Independence and mobility in later life

This paper explores independence in later life and its relations with mobility, or embodied movements through physical space on the basis of a review of a range of academic literature and in-depth interviews with community-dwelling adults aged 70 and more in the UK. We suggest that independence is a...

সম্পূর্ণ বিবরণ

গ্রন্থ-পঞ্জীর বিবরন
প্রধান লেখক: Schwanen, T, Banister, D, Bowling, A
বিন্যাস: Journal article
ভাষা:English
প্রকাশিত: Elsevier 2012
বিষয়গুলি:
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author Schwanen, T
Banister, D
Bowling, A
author_facet Schwanen, T
Banister, D
Bowling, A
author_sort Schwanen, T
collection OXFORD
description This paper explores independence in later life and its relations with mobility, or embodied movements through physical space on the basis of a review of a range of academic literature and in-depth interviews with community-dwelling adults aged 70 and more in the UK. We suggest that independence is a complex and fuzzy notion that is best thought of as a qualitative multiplicity and as an unstable achievement fabricated out of dependencies on bodies, technologies, infrastructures, social networks and other elements. Yet we also find that the study participants understand independent mobility as avoiding lifts provided by next of kin, friends or others for getting around. This is tied to the enactment of particular forms of embodiment and ageist subject positions for older people and implies that older adults are inadvertently complicit in the perpetuation of the connotations of dependency in later life with passivity, burden and undesirability. To counteract these tendencies, we end this paper by elaborating more inclusive and broader conceptualisations of dependence, independence and independent mobility in later life.
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spelling oxford-uuid:1529a8c7-e4cd-44d8-a2b6-a12706bdef602022-03-26T10:23:56ZIndependence and mobility in later lifeJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:1529a8c7-e4cd-44d8-a2b6-a12706bdef60Interpersonal BehaviourOlder personsCommerce, Communications, TransportEnglishSocial Sciences Division - DaisyElsevier2012Schwanen, TBanister, DBowling, AThis paper explores independence in later life and its relations with mobility, or embodied movements through physical space on the basis of a review of a range of academic literature and in-depth interviews with community-dwelling adults aged 70 and more in the UK. We suggest that independence is a complex and fuzzy notion that is best thought of as a qualitative multiplicity and as an unstable achievement fabricated out of dependencies on bodies, technologies, infrastructures, social networks and other elements. Yet we also find that the study participants understand independent mobility as avoiding lifts provided by next of kin, friends or others for getting around. This is tied to the enactment of particular forms of embodiment and ageist subject positions for older people and implies that older adults are inadvertently complicit in the perpetuation of the connotations of dependency in later life with passivity, burden and undesirability. To counteract these tendencies, we end this paper by elaborating more inclusive and broader conceptualisations of dependence, independence and independent mobility in later life.
spellingShingle Interpersonal Behaviour
Older persons
Commerce, Communications, Transport
Schwanen, T
Banister, D
Bowling, A
Independence and mobility in later life
title Independence and mobility in later life
title_full Independence and mobility in later life
title_fullStr Independence and mobility in later life
title_full_unstemmed Independence and mobility in later life
title_short Independence and mobility in later life
title_sort independence and mobility in later life
topic Interpersonal Behaviour
Older persons
Commerce, Communications, Transport
work_keys_str_mv AT schwanent independenceandmobilityinlaterlife
AT banisterd independenceandmobilityinlaterlife
AT bowlinga independenceandmobilityinlaterlife