Parent–child mobility practices: revealing ‘cracks’ in the automobility system

ABSTRACT

Many commentators are concerned about automobility’s ill-effects and seek a shift away from auto dependence towards more sustainable transport. Little research, however, considers the ways that parent–child mobilities are linked to such a transition. Through the lens of social practice theory, this paper explores how parents travelling with young children preserve and challenge automobility as they enact auto dependency, multimodality and altermobility. The paper argues that it is vital to understand these practices for identifying ‘cracks’ in automobility and the possibility of more sustainable and equitable daily mobilities. The research is based on qualitative parent interviews undertaken in Vancouver (British Columbia).     

Socialities in Motion: Automobility and Car Cruising in Iceland☆

Abstract

Car cruising is a common phenomenon around the globe. In Iceland, the activity is a major assimilative sociocultural phenomenon for young people and especially for novice drivers. This article documents car cruising in Iceland and contextualizes it within discussions of automobility. It is based on semi-structured, ‘on the move’ interviews taken with people during cruising. Participants were also asked to take pictures of their cruising activities. It seems that car cruising is an opportunity for young people to integrate themselves into the systemic regime of automobility. This shows the importance of socialities when it comes to individual practices and expressions of automobility, but also the structuring role of those socialities. The paper also elucidates how that activity impacts upon spaces. It demonstrates that it is intimately connected with human territoriality, or how young drivers appropriate and influence the spaces and places of automobility and ultimately contribute to their production and reproduction, thus sustaining the systemic regime of automobility.     

Stopping the ‘War on the Car’: Neoliberalism,Fordism, and the Politics of Automobility in Toronto

Abstract

This article interrogates the politics of automobility in Toronto under the regime of mayor Rob Ford, who came to power in 2010 promising to ‘stop the war on the car.’ The election of Ford, and the thrust of his subsequent agenda, came as a surprise to many in the city, due to Toronto’s reputation as a cosmopolitan diverse transit-friendly global city. The Toronto case study allows for the analysis of the relationships between Fordism, automobility, and the politics and rationalities of neoliberalism. Instead of seeing neoliberalism as something external or imposed, its contested politics are rooted in diverging social and economic interests directly derived from Fordism and the system of automobility, with opposing political-economic factions both drawing on different elements of neoliberalism. Authoritarian populist neoliberal regimes like the Ford administration in Toronto, and the roll-back austerity they promote, are not antithetical to automobile Fordism, but on the contrary represent an attempt to protect and reinvigorate it in the face of the forces of de-industrialization and financialization. As such they receive their support from social groups irrevocably invested in the continuation, and irrationalities, of the Fordist system of automobility. This has implications for how the politics of neoliberalism might unfold in the future.     

Still Feeling the Car – The Role of Comfort in Sustaining Private Car Use

Abstract

In 2004, Mimi Sheller highlighted that emotions and sensations play a key part in sustaining the dominant culture of automobility. Sheller’s work ‘Automotive Emotions’ has been followed by a decade of technological, social and cultural developments, many of which have enhanced the way we dwell in, and seek comfort from, the private car. Ten years on we are still ‘feeling the car’. This paper draws on empirical research on the journey to work in a large auto-dependent city. It explores the function of sensory experience in sustaining automobility through contemporary impracticalities such as constraints on carbon and increased congestion. A practice theory frame is used to unpick this role and feeling the car is positioned as a subtle yet integral element cementing the practice of driving.     

Law and Mobility: Ethnographical Accounts of the Regulation of the Segregated Cycle Facilities in Mexico City

Abstract

This paper seeks to explain the operation of and the reactions to the everyday regulation of the segregated cycling facilities in Mexico City. Specifically, through an ethnographic approach, this paper tries to illustrate how social practices, everyday legal interpretations, and police practices intersect so as to reinforce the preeminence of the automobile at the expense of other forms of mobility, such as cycling. This question is essential in the ongoing efforts to develop a more sustainable and inclusive world. Research findings suggest that, in contrast with an isolationist image typified by the recurring figure of the law as a static tool for encouraging a bike-friendly society, urban traffic regulation actually represents a complex aggregate of actors, practices, and institutions which are constantly in motion and in which alternative ways towards a more varied and sustainable world are recursively enforced or resisted.     

Practising Highland Heterotopias: Automobility in the Interior of Iceland

The paper describes the history and current enactments of automobility in the highland interior of Iceland and interprets this phenomenon through the notion of spatial history. We elucidate how the currently widespread practices of automotive travel in the highlands are mediated through the technological assemblage of the ‘jeep’ and its user. We argue that the travelling is done in a double sense; through an ‘inner’ space of the vehicle and an ‘outer’ space of the highland terrain. A heterotopic spatial history emerges, which offers detailed insights into this specific form of automobility. In the final part of the paper, implications of these travel practices for the politics of nature are discussed.     

Violent mobilities: men,masculinities and road conflicts in Sweden

This article focuses on violence(s) in traffic space as a gendered problem. It draws upon qualitative online studies and interviews with cyclists about their experiences of motorists’ violent practices, including cyclists’ negotiations of anti-cyclist discourses and their coping strategies. It is argued that automobility makes it possible for certain men to perform their ‘right to the road,’ including gender-identity-shaping practices, and that this has the negative effect of violating cyclists’ bodily integrity. It follows that a shift from cars to more sustainable mobilities also demands related shifts in masculinities and men’s practices in the context of transport and traffic.     

Moto-mobilities: Geographies of the Motorcycle and Motorcyclists

Abstract

This paper draws upon and seeks to extend accounts of systems of automobility through an examination of geographies of the motorcycle and motorcyclist – or what we term ‘moto-mobilities’. We utilize the figure of the motorcycle to raise the importance of analysing alternative mobilities: to consider how they appeal to different travelling dispositions and emotions; how they have been represented; and how they have been produced, marketed and consumed. The paper first reflects upon the experiences and embodiment of the motorcycle-rider; second, evaluates representations of moto-mobility; and finally attends to the materiality of mobility via an examination of the economy of motorcycle qualities.     

Moralities in mobility: negotiating moral subjectivities in Istanbul’s traffic

ABSTRACT

Traffic congestion profoundly marks Istanbul’s everyday, in part, by casting drivers as competitors for time and space. Navigating traffic entails many driver maneuvers that are seemingly ‘unfair’ or ‘wrong’ such as line cutting, driving in the emergency lane, parking in prohibited areas, running lights, etc. As such, drivers carefully detail contingencies and circumstances within which some of their ostensibly problematic actions can be deemed acceptable. Within these narratives are also buried processes of emerging as moral subjects albeit filled with ambiguities and contradictions. This paper brings together mobility studies, the anthropology of traffic and the anthropology of ethics/morality to provide ethnographic detail into the everyday of experiencing automobility in Istanbul as a morally complex and formative arena. It is based on a year’s fieldwork with 45 drivers of diverse vehicles recounting their struggles as they try to maintain a sense of ‘conscience’ while they reach their destination, sometimes at the expense of others.     

The Culture of New Mobility in Russia: Networks and Flows Formation

Abstract

The paper considers the development of the culture of new mobility in Russia from the perspective of the quantitative analysis of the changes occurring in the structure of traffic movements and flows and communication using mobile phones, the internet, and other mobile gadgets. The culture of mobility is defined as a set of the interactions which are carried out apropos and during mobility. It is argued that the culture of new mobility in Russia is specified by the processes of ‘individualization’ and ‘networked individualism’. This conclusion is inferred from the rapid growth of individualized automobility, from the considerable increase in international tourism and from the widespread prevalence of mobile gadgets as indispensable attributes of everyday life.     

Interactive Metal Fatigue: A Conceptual Contribution to Social Critique in Mobilities Research

The ‘mobilities turn’ has reinvigorated the social critique on the automobility system. Theorizing its profound reconfigurations of social life, relationist commitments invite a certain silence regarding the associated social pathologies, however. This article explores a critical-theoretical interpretation of the mobilities paradigm. It proposes the ‘interactive metal fatigue’ (IMF) concept, which theorizes the emergence of ‘interpassive’ social relations as socio-technical dialectics. Taking into account the contradictions that surround the critical-theoretical project, IMF paves the way for balanced critiques of mobilities. This will be shown through the case of Shared Space, an attempt to free public space from traffic management colonization.     

Influence of grandmothers on breastfeeding practices in a rural community in Papua New Guinea: A critical discourse analysis of first-time mothers’ perspectives

BackgroundAlmost all babies are breastfed in Papua New Guinea (PNG); yet appropriate breastfeeding practices are not always followed.AimTo explore the perspectives of first-time mothers in rural PNG on how the language and discourse of grandmothers about infant feeding influence their breastfeeding practices.MethodsA critical discourse analysis (CDA) approach was used to theoretically frame the analysis of twenty first-time mothers’ narratives.FindingsAnalysis revealed three themes: (i) prescribed knowledge repository, (ii) social control and dominance, and (iii) disapproval and role conflict, which provides an understanding of grandmothers’ differing views and positions on infant feeding practices and their influence on breastfeeding.ConclusionThis study shows that grandmothers remain influential in infant feeding practices in rural PNG. There appears to be a societal expectation that empowers grandmothers in the maternal decision-making processes regarding breastfeeding practice. Grandmothers’ influence includes the early introduction of complementary foods to infants less than six months old. Interventions aimed at promoting, protecting, and supporting breastfeeding need to include grandmothers.     

Automobility reconfigured? Ironic seductions and mundane freedoms in 16–21 year olds’ accounts of car driving and ownership

In the light of the ‘peak-car’ thesis, this paper explores the driving-related desires and practices of adults aged 16–21 and their parents from the UK. Tropes of freedom and independence were commonly evoked; but were pragmatically framed by concerns of finance, utility and risk. Car ownership was prized only for instrumental reasons, and as one tool in a mixed, collective transport network: it had been decoupled from automobility. Environmental sustainability was notably absent from discussions. It may be too early to herald the end of automobility but, for these participants, its seductions have been rendered ironic, rather than aspirational.     

Breastfeeding practices in women with type 1 diabetes: A discussion of the psychosocial factors and policies in Sweden and Australia

BackgroundWomen with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) face many challenges during their pregnancy, birth and in the postnatal period, including breastfeeding initiation and continuation while maintaining stable glycaemic control. In both Sweden and Australia the rates of breastfeeding initiation are high. However, overall there is limited information about the breastfeeding practices of women with T1DM and the factors affecting them. Similarities in demographics, birth rates and health systems create bases for discussion.AimThe aim of this paper is to discuss psychosocial factors, policies and practices that impact on the breastfeeding practices of women with T1DM.FindingsSwedish research indicates that the overall breastfeeding rate in women with T1DM remains significantly lower than in women without diabetes in the first 2 and 6 months after childbirth with no differences in exclusive breastfeeding. Breastfeeding initiation and continuation among women with T1DM in Sweden has been shown to be influenced by health services delivery, supportive breastfeeding polices and socio-economic factors, particular perceived support from social networks and health professionals.ConclusionThere is limited research on the impact of attitudes towards breastfeeding, emotional and social well-being and diabetes-related stress on the decision of women with T1DM to initiate and continue to breastfeed for at least 6 months. A more comprehensive understanding of the breastfeeding practices and psychosocial factors operating during the first 6 months after birth for women with T1DM will be instrumental in the future design of interventions promoting initiation and continuation of breastfeeding in Sweden, Australia and elsewhere.     

Bangkok flooded: re(assembling) disaster mobility

ABSTRACT

The paper investigates mobility options and practices of irregular migrant workers and international urban refugees during the 2011 flood in Bangkok, Thailand. Contributing to debates on disaster mobility and climate change induced displacement, the paper explores how citizenship and racialized differences unfolded during the flood event and how such differences had (de)mobilising effects for specific subgroups of Bangkok’s irregular population. Drawing on the concepts of assemblage and affect the paper proposes to perceive of race as emergent within concrete interactions between bodies, rather than a pre-given social category or a purely discursive trope. From this perspective the body itself may become a repository to subvert or manipulate racialized perceptions. The paper argues that approaching race as an emerging assemblage helps to shed light both on the demobilising effects race had on people’s mobility as well as on the fleeting moments of generosity and care between people that proliferated alongside such demobilisations.     

The Joy of Biking Together: Sharing Everyday Experiences of Vélomobility

Abstract

This paper analyses how adults and children elicit and share their everyday experiences of cycling together in a variety of circumstances. Video data were collected of commuter cyclists, family bike rides and school bike tours. Using an ethnomethodologically informed approach to talk, mobile action and interactional practices, the novel video recordings of these diverse vélomobile formations are analysed in order to document how cyclists organise and mobilise their experiences and accompanying emotions in relation to the concurrent activity of biking together. Assuming that displays of emotion are situated, social activities, the analysis focuses on how embodied displays of emotion are accomplished, maintained, assessed and resisted by co-riders in motion.     

Repetitive Visiting as a Pre‐return Transnational Strategy among Youthful Trinidadian Returnees

Abstract

This paper will develop and illustrate a concept of institutional viscosity to balance the more agentive concept of motility with a theoretical account of structural conditions. The argument articulates with two bodies of work: broad social theory of reflexivity as negotiating agency and social structures; and sociology of mobility and mobility systems . It then illustrates the concept of viscosity as a variable (low to high viscosity) through two empirical studies conducted in the sociology of education that help demonstrate how degrees of viscosity interact with degrees of motility, and how this interaction can impact on motility over time. The first study explored how Australian Defence Force families cope with their children’s disrupted education given frequent forced relocations. The other study explored how middle class professionals relate to career and educational opportunities in rural and remote Queensland. These two life conditions have produced very different institutional practices to make relocations thinkable and doable, by variously constraining or enabling mobility. In turn, the degrees of viscosity mobile individuals meet with over time can erode or elevate their motility.     

Documenting risk: A comparison of policy and information pamphlets for using epidural or water in labour

BackgroundApproximately 30% of Australian women use epidural analgesia for pain relief in labour, and its use is increasing. While epidural analgesia is considered a safe option from an anaesthetic point of view, its use transfers a labouring woman out of the category of ‘normal’ labour and increases her risk of intervention. Judicious use of epidural may be beneficial in particular situations, but its current common use needs to be assessed more closely. This has not yet been explored in the Australian context.AimTo examine personal, social, institutional and cultural influences on women in their decision to use epidural analgesia in labour. Examining this one event in depth illuminates other birth practices, which can also be analysed according to how they fit within prevailing cultural beliefs about birth.MethodsEthnography, underpinned by a critical medical anthropology methodology.ResultsThese findings describe the influence of risk culture on labour ward practice; specifically, the policies and practices surrounding the use of epidural analgesia are contrasted with those on the use of water. Engaging with current risk theory, we identify the role of power in conceptualisations of risk, which are commonly perpetuated by authority rather than evidence.ConclusionsAs we move towards a risk-driven society, it is vital to identify both the conception and the consequences of promulgations of risk. The construction of waterbirth as a ‘risky’ practice had the effect of limiting midwifery practice and women's choices, despite evidence that points to the epidural as the more ‘dangerous’ option.     

Social support,parental role competence and satisfaction among Chinese mothers and fathers in the early postpartum period: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundA sense of parental competence and satisfaction during the transition to parenthood can have a tremendous impact on the quality of parenting behaviors, with social support being an important facilitator.AimTo examine parental role competence and satisfaction of Chinese mothers and fathers in the early postpartum period with regard to social support.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in a regional teaching hospital in Guangzhou, China. The study was conducted between June 5 and November 16, 2015. One hundred and eighty parental pairs at 6–8 weeks after birth completed the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, Perceived Social Support Scale, and socio-demographic questionnaires.ResultsParental role competence and satisfaction of Chinese mothers and fathers were at a moderate level, affected each other and there were no significant differences between the mothers and the fathers. The Competence Scale scores had a significant positive correlation with social support. Multiple regression analysis revealed two variables that predicted maternal Competence Scale scores: maternal social support and the paternal Competence Scale scores. Paternal social support and maternal Competence Scale scores contributed significantly to paternal Competence Scale scores.ConclusionParental role competence and satisfaction of mothers and fathers were at a moderate level and affected by the parenting partner. To improve parental role competence and satisfaction, health care professionals should develop strategies that impact the whole family and not just a single individual. Supportive parenting programs should be implemented for both mothers and fathers.     

Childbearing traditions of Indian women at home and abroad: An integrative literature review

BackgroundThe percentage of overseas-born mothers giving birth in Australia has increased to 31.5% in 2012 and Indian women represent 10% (the highest proportion). It is important for midwives in Australia to be aware of the childbearing traditions of Indian women and how these influence Indian women birthing in Australia.AimTo explore childbearing practices in India and Indian women's experience of giving birth abroad; and to discuss the relevant findings for midwives working with Indian women in Australia.MethodAn integrative literature review was employed. 32 items, including 18 original research articles were thematically reviewed to identify commonly occurring themes relating to Indian women's childbearing traditions.FindingsFive themes relating to traditional childbearing practices of women birthing in India were identified. These themes included diversity and disparity; social context of childbirth and marriage; diet based on Ayurveda; pollution theory and confinement; and finally, rituals and customs.ConclusionIndian women giving birth abroad and by implication in Australia experience a transition to motherhood in a new culture. While adjusting to motherhood, they are also negotiating between their old and new cultural identities. To provide culturally safe care, it is essential that midwives reflect on their own culture while exploring what traditions are important for Indian women.