A case study of physical activity among older adults in rural Newfoundland, Canada

The purpose of this study was to assess rural older adults' perceptions of leisure-time physical activity and examine these perceptions from a historical perspective. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 inhabitants (mean age 82 years) of Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and subjected to inductive analysis. Member-checking interviews were conducted with 5 participants. Findings indicated that beginning in childhood, participants were socialized into a subculture of work activity. As a result of these historical and social forces, leisure-time physical activity did not form part of the participants' lives after retirement. Strategies for successful aging involved keeping busy, but this "busyness" did not include leisure-time physical activity. Results demonstrated the importance of developing a broader understanding of how past and present-day contexts can influence participation in leisure-time physical activity.     

"It's your badge of inclusion": The Red Hat Society as a gendered subculture of aging

Although studies document the health-enhancing effects of social engagement, they reveal little about the underlying mechanisms operating within specific organizational contexts. Limited attention is given to the role of inequality - particularly age and gender - in shaping either the organizations to which we belong or their consequences for our well-being. We address this issue by examining the Red Hat Society, a social organization for middle-aged and older women. Interviews with members (n=52) illustrate how age and gender inequality interact to shape the organization, which can be viewed as a gendered subculture of aging. Drawing on this framework, we discuss four processes through which participation generates benefits for older women involved in age- and gender-segregated organizations: enhancing social networks, countering invisibility, creating positive frames for aging experiences, and promoting youthful identities.     

Finding “Me” Again: Women's Postdivorce Identity Shifts

The purpose of this study was to explore women's identity shifts as they navigate their postdivorce lives. We conducted in-depth, loosely structured interviews with 31 women who had been through at least 1 divorce. Interviews included questions about how women experienced life after divorce, specifically addressing changes they made to separate from the marriage and form a postdivorce identity. Patterns emerged regarding the process of identity change in 3 distinct domains: physical appearance, physical surroundings, and marital artifacts. Results are discussed in terms of the interplay between internal and external changes and the retrospective nature of the identity shifts.     

Three profiles of heavy metal fans: A taste for sensation and a subculture of alienation

Profiles of three fans of heavy metal music are presented, in order to examine the definition and boundaries of the heavy metal subculture. It is suggested on the basis of these profiles that a high level of sensation seeking can lead to a liking for heavy metal music, because the music provides such high-intensity sensation. However, fans become part of thesubculture of heavy metal music only to the extent that their high sensation seeking is combined with alienation. Although all three people profiled enjoyed the high sensation qualities of the music, their involvement in the subculture varied according to the depth of their alienation. Jack, deeply alienated, was deeply committed to the subculture. Brian's alienation was moderate, and his involvement in the subculture was moderate as well. Marvin was not alienated in the least, and was essentially outside the subculture.     

Hispanic and African American Youth

SUMMARY

This exploratory, qualitative study of 28 (10 Hispanic and 18 African American) former foster care youth attempts to capture the essence of their quest for self-sufficiency. While research on former foster care youth continues to highlight the problems confronting them after they emancipate from care, the depth of their struggles is often lost in the aggregation of statistics. The numbers themselves often fail to capture the hardships, isolation, hope, and despair many of them may face as they attempt to adjust to life after foster care. Furthermore, existing research often regards emancipated youth as a homogeneous population. Interviews with these respondents of color were coded to determine the themes and stories they held. The themes emergent from these interviews were: the importance of people in the independent living programs; vagueness in recalling the content of the independent living programs; family conflict; housing instability; regrets, fears, and lessons learned; and future goals. Implications for culturally sensitive practice and research are drawn from these data.     

‘Often it is because of who is doing it.’ The production of a youth subculture’s image through talk

This paper proposes a transactional approach to how the image of a subculture is co-produced through talk in the context of a face-to-face social encounter. A single-case micro-analysis of a talk about the squatting movement in Spain is developed. During the talk an interaction occurs between university students, one of whom is a squatter. Inspired by Goffman’s work on the presentation of the self in everyday life, we examined how co-participants engaged in the following: (1) the production of a working definition of squatting and squatters, (2) the critical examination of such definition, and (3) the repair of squatting and squatters’ image when it is spoiled. The analysed social encounter is regarded as an example of ‘mixed contact’ between members and non-members of youth (political) subculture. The discussion stresses the techniques of information control deployed by the subculturalist to manage the public image of squatters while performing dramaturgical loyalty to her membership groups. A transactional understanding of youth subculture is proposed.     

The Changing Occupational Structure of Amish Males1

Abstract As a subculture, the Amish sustain a distinctive way of life while maintaining linkages with the larger society. Historically, this has been accomplished within the economic sphere through restriction of livelihood to farming and at-home occupations. This article documents the growing differentiation of the occupational structure of the Amish and their movement to nonfarm occupations. Occupational changes are discussed in terms of their impacts on Amish society.     

The Life Course of Leisure-Oriented Retirement Communities

Abstract

Leisure-oriented retirement communities (LORCs) are specifically designed to meet the housing needs of a small but important sector of older population. This research involved informal follow-up site visits to seven LORCs that were the focus of previous research in the 1980s. In general, the communities were found to have remained viable by adjusting to changes in both the housing market and the needs and preferences of residents. Interviews with key informants at each site suggest that, despite economic and social pressures, the viability of these communities has been characterized by the autonomy and stability of community organization and quality of life, as indicated through amenities packages.     

Family things: Attending the household disbandment of older adults

When adults move to smaller quarters in later life, family members become involved in the management and disposal of possessions-some cherished, some mundane. Interviews were conducted with 14 family members who had participated in a household disbandment by elders. This qualitative analysis describes the various tasks that were undertaken by family members; how family members asserted themselves in the process; how they were an outlet for possessions; the way that some possessions are shared; and implications for family's story about itself. Household disbandment is a field for all sorts of family practices that can be summarized along three continua that characterize (1) the receiving of goods, (2) the location of agency between elder and family members, and (3) family's self-understanding.     

Spirituality and Religion in the Lives of Runaway and Homeless Youth

Abstract

This qualitative study, part of a larger study of resiliency, explores the impact of spirituality on runaway and/or homeless youth. Interviews with 19 former runaway and homeless youth were analyzed to explore their experience of spirituality as they coped with the adversity in their lives. Five themes related to spirituality emerged: a belief in divine intervention; having a personal relationship with a nonjudgmental higher power; use of prayer; participation in traditional and nontraditional religious practices; and finding meaning and purpose in life, including a desire to “give back” to their community. Implications for social work practice and research are addressed.     

Ocean cruising: a sailing subculture

Just after dawn, an English couple in their 30's haul up their anchor and motor across the stillness of Suva harbour. The hurricane season is approaching and they are embarking on the 2–3 week trip to Bay of Islands New Zealand for the southern summer. Three months earlier, as their yacht lay aground on the fringing reef of uninhabited Suvarov atoll, they wondered if they'd ever reach New Zealand. But, with the help of other cruisers and lucky tides their steel 36 footer was clear and safe in under 24 hours. What was to be a one year trip around the north Atlantic was now happily way off course in the South Pacific and likely to remain so for some time. That is just a glimpse of one small aspect of ocean cruising, the subculture of interest here. However, throughout the paper the ethnography of cruising is developed further. A model is proposed to show how individuals come to share the subculture ideology and then to participate in the lifestyle. Subsequently, I will place ocean cruising in the context of subculture theory by expanding the ethnography and relating cruising to other subcultures.     

作为亚文化的五月风暴:勾连实践与感觉结构

在法国1968年五月风暴事件中,亚文化作为美国当时的文化现象,通过媒介等介质传到法国,间接影响了法国的五月风暴事件。当以风格抵抗的亚文化在五月风暴中转换为切实的对抗行动的那一刻,意识形态的断裂处就缝合起来了,此时亚文化与五月风暴形成了独特的勾连,在一定程度上推动了法国青年学生群体的行动与抵抗。而两者勾连后的同一性又形成了这一代青年反抗群体独有的感觉结构,即嬉皮精神。嬉皮精神作为五月风暴中青年群体的感觉结构,内化为五月风暴参与者的抵抗行为,以及亚文化再生产的精神驱力。     

Decision-Making of Mothers in Hong Kong Regarding the Occasional Use of Alternative Child-Care Arrangements

This study examines the use of alternative child-care arrangements as an everyday life decision in a family context. Interviews with twenty-four mothers from a working class neighborhood in a new town in Hong Kong were transcribed and analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Results of the analysis outlined: (a) the structural components of making a decision regarding alternative care, which consisted of demands, resource options, definitions of the situation, types of decision situations, and the respective decision-making strategies; and (b) the nature of decision-making processes, varying from ad hoc to standing. Together, these aspects illuminate how mothers make decisions regarding the use of alternative child-care arrangements and, in turn, the characteristics of family decision-making in everyday life.     

The Culture of White Space,the Racialized Production of Meaning,and the Jamband Scene

This study critically examines the subculture of the jamband scene, particularly that of the band Phish, through the notion of “white space.” We demonstrate the existence of colorblind racism and denial of white privilege in the white space of Phish subculture, which is also emblematic of the jamband subculture at large. This study utilizes content analysis drawing from social media comments that react to an article written by Headcount, a political organization in the jamband subculture, titled “Phish Scene is So White: Let's Talk.” The most salient themes we found were colorblind racism and particular online forms of colorblind racetalk through emotional deflection and sarcasm—that we term NIMBY. Our findings add to our understanding of how colorblind racism operates in online versions of subcultural white spaces. We conclude by considering the importance of sociologists to urgently map the social and cultural contours by which white spaces are (re)produced, particularly through cultural processes of meaning-making.     

Intergenerational Relations: The Views of Older Jews and Arabs

The aim of the current qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of older Jews and Arabs on intergenerational family relations. Interviews were conducted with 20 men and women, 10 in each group, ages 65 and older. Five themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews: family is the major component of meaning of life; two dimensions of intergenerational relations: solidarity and ambivalence; intergenerational communication; filial expectations; and home and family as sources of honor and respect. Similarities and differences between the two groups were identified and explained, using modernization theory and cultural context.     

“How Edge Are You?” Constructing Authentic Identities and Subcultural Boundaries in a Straightedge Internet Forum

We analyze how participants in an internet forum dedicated to the straightedge subculture articulate and express subcultural identities and boundaries, with particular attention to how they accomplish these tasks in a computer‐mediated context. Through participant observation, “focused discussions,” and interviews, we explore the complexity of identity‐making processes in terms of cyberspace and subculture, conceptualizing identification as occurring at the intersection of biography, subculture, and technology. We find that the internet influences how individuals participate in subcultural communities by analyzing their claims for authenticity and how they position themselves in relation to subcultural boundaries. This article provides insight into the dialectic relationship between participation in a subculture and in an internet community.     

Divers' Accounts of Normal Risk

This research examines how deep sea divers learn to expand notions of risk to include practices that violate formal training and may increase vulnerability to injury. Cultural constructions of “normal” or acceptable risk are learned in interaction with experienced divers who define the rules of membership and provide accounts that excuse or justify participation in high risk activities. The research explores how novice divers learn to distinguish categories of formal, normal, and excessive risk as they expand their risk involvement and attempt to achieve membership in the deep diving subculture. The study concludes with a discussion of risk normalization in everyday life and other leisure and occupational subcultures.     

Impacts of Return Migration on Rural U.S. Communities

Rural population loss is caused as much by low in‐migration as by high out‐migration, and for geographically disadvantaged nonmetropolitan counties in the United States, return migration plays a crucial role. This research captures impacts of return migrants on population, economy, and society in declining rural U.S. communities using a qualitative, multisited approach. Interviews conducted at high school reunions with rural returnees in their late 20s to late 40s show that the vast majority of returnees brought spouses and children back with them, increasing the short‐term and long‐term population. They also brought back much needed human capital, including education, job skills, and life experiences, and filled professional positions that are often hard to fill in rural communities. Entrepreneurial activities and self‐employment of many return migrants favorably affected rural economies by improving the employment base and expanding available services. Interviews show how decisions to move back were grounded in social relations that promoted civic engagement. While they mainly moved back for their children and their families, return migrants valued involvement in familiar social networks and the opportunities to make a difference in their rural hometowns.     

American Airlines’ use of mediated employee channels after the 9/11 attacks

This study investigates American Airlines’ employee response to the 9/11 attacks. Interviews with corporate communicators at the airline and analysis of electronic publications released internally within the airline reveal how mediated communication channels supported the supervisory communication efforts after the 9/11 attacks. An internal employee campaign called Good Words is used to illustrate how emerging technologies can support the emotional needs of employees after a crisis. The article concludes with lessons American Airlines learned from the terrorist attacks and implications for crisis communicators.