Conserving Habitus: Home,Couplehood and Dementia

ABSTRACT

Compared to research on home in circumstances of aging, place and care, our knowledge about home in relation to couplehood is limited despite increases in the percentage of married and cohabiting older people in the UK. Specifically, our understanding of the experience and meaning of home for couples where one partner has dementia remains under-explored. This article presents a scoping review of published empirical literature to examine older couples’ experiences of home in dementia. The literature identified and reviewed through searching academic databases and Google Scholar is interdisciplinary and a thematic analysis suggests interactions of couplehood, home and dementia. To discuss these interactions, we use Bourdieu’s framework of field, capital, practice and habitus. We observe that habitus may gradually alter and fracture. But, in locating and supporting the performance of (adapted) everyday relationships and domestic practices, home has a distinct role in contributing to conserving habitus and in turn continuity of relationships and home. The gradual fracturing of habitus with the progression of dementia however also suggests that the continuity of relationships and home remain contingent, but this needs further investigation. It is an element of home futures that cannot remain invisible.     

Puke Ahu: articulating a place-based,university campus identity

Universities in Aotearoa New Zealand are public institutions established on lands purchased or acquired by government since 1869. As particular sites in the built landscape, they each carry a history and geography. A project at Massey University’s Wellington campus seeks to open-up diverse identifications with the ‘place’ of the campus and has produced resources, established fora, and built relationships that differently recognise aspects of place and identity. The Pākehā authors reflect on the theoretical frameworks that have influenced their work on the project including geography, critical pedagogy, and discourse theory. As Pākehā academics engaging with the indigenous history of the land through which they work, the authors discuss the implications of this knowledge and the difficulties and responsibilities of working in a project that seeks emancipatory outcomes.     

Interprofessional collaboration between social workers and school counsellors in tackling youth at-risk behaviour

In Singapore, although youths are engaged in school, at-risk behaviours still prevail. This study discovers the experiences of collaboration between social workers and school counsellors when working together to tackle the multi-dimensional problems that youths face. It is posited that the collaborative processes have strengthened as seen in the role clarity, flexibility and tight communicative processes amongst professionals. There are also issues of concerns raised, such as confidentiality and clashes in agenda. These are discussed in light of the processes and orientations that influenced professionals in their practise. Last, relevant recommendations are given to develop collaborative work.     

Implicit Behavioral Mimicry: Investigating the Impact of Group Membership

Two experiments investigated the impact of group membership on non-conscious behavioral mimicry. Female participants viewed videotapes of female confederates who rubbed their faces whilst describing a picture. The extent to which the participant mimicked this face rubbing behavior was assessed from video footage taken using a hidden video-camera. Experiment 1 showed greater mimicry of a member of an in-group than of a member of an out-group. Experiment 2 showed both explicit and implicit liking of a target group to predict the extent of mimicry of a member of that group. There was a positive relationship between implicit liking and mimicry but a negative relationship between explicit liking and mimicry. Results are discussed in terms of processes underlying mimicry.

Situating the Notion of “gbɛkɛfɔŋs” in the Discourse of Child Sexual Abuse Among the Ga in Accra,Ghana

Child sexual abuse (CSA) is a prevalent problem in many societies across the globe. There have been several discussions of the subject and attempts have been made to explain its incidence and find ways to prevent and/or control it. However, despite these efforts, the problem seems to persist in developing countries like Ghana with dire consequences for the children and society at large. This paper sought to glean insights about the persistence of the problem by focusing on the discourse surrounding the subject. Using Focus Group Discussions with adult members in the Ga communities in Accra namely La, Teshie, and James Town where the phenomenon is relatively pervasive, the paper sought to understand the reasoning and the implications of accusing children who were sexually abused in the Ga community of seducing the perpetrators and engaging in sex for money. The paper posits that the labeling of victims of CSA as “gb?k?f??s” (children of bad character) disempowers children and perpetuates the abuse of children. Thus, introducing and situating this notion of “gb?k?f??s” in the center of the discourse largely results in a victimization of the victims and a vicious cycle of CSA. The conclusions from this study point to the need for a reorientation of parental and communal roles and an empowering of children to identify and resist sexual abuse.     

Spatial heterogeneity in drinking water sources in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), Ghana

Population and Environment - Universal access to safe drinking water is essential to population health and well-being, as recognized in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). To develop targeted...     

Visibility of the ovaries and breasts: an analysis of Angelina Jolie’s medical announcements

Advanced epithelial ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecologic cancer; yet public knowledge about the disease is limited. This essay critically examines the limited visibility of ovarian cancer using Angelina Jolie’s medical announcements in 2013 and 2015 as examples. The essay also examines how Jolie’s case reinforces and also challenges hegemonic notions of femininity, the woman’s body and health, and how it explicates limitations in discourses of choice and risk. I argue that normative views about the female body play significant roles in shaping how and what we know about women’s health.     

Improving the Impact and Implementation of Disaster Education: Programs for Children Through Theory‐Based Evaluation

A main weakness in the evaluation of disaster education programs for children is evaluators’ propensity to judge program effectiveness based on changes in children's knowledge. Few studies have articulated an explicit program theory of how children's education would achieve desired outcomes and impacts related to disaster risk reduction in households and communities. This article describes the advantages of constructing program theory models for the purpose of evaluating disaster education programs for children. Following a review of some potential frameworks for program theory development, including the logic model, the program theory matrix, and the stage step model, the article provides working examples of these frameworks. The first example is the development of a program theory matrix used in an evaluation of ShakeOut, an earthquake drill practiced in two Washington State school districts. The model illustrates a theory of action; specifically, the effectiveness of school earthquake drills in preventing injuries and deaths during disasters. The second example is the development of a stage step model used for a process evaluation of What's the Plan Stan?, a voluntary teaching resource distributed to all New Zealand primary schools for curricular integration of disaster education. The model illustrates a theory of use; specifically, expanding the reach of disaster education for children through increased promotion of the resource. The process of developing the program theory models for the purpose of evaluation planning is discussed, as well as the advantages and shortcomings of the theory‐based approaches.     

The concept of a child within sub‐Saharan African migrant homes: Reconciling culture and child rights

As international migration increases, the Australian socio‐cultural and political context in which sub‐Saharan African migrant families are settling is causing tension between traditional sub‐Saharan African migrant definitions of child and childhood experiences and host nation definitions particularly when compared with the child protection system. This paper seeks to explore and highlight the fundamental values and differences that determine perceptions and treatment of children within traditional sub‐Saharan African communities. Using a qualitative design, this study was influenced by acculturation theory. Four major themes emerged from the analysis: (a) culture and the sub‐Saharan African child, (b) moulding good children, (c) family functioning and relationships, and (d) host context: perceptions of Australian mainstream parenting. The study found that in order to successfully make decisions that are in the best interest of sub‐Saharan African migrant children that come to the attention of the child protection system, discussions about children rights can only yield good outcomes when the child's socio‐cultural environment is considered.     

Towards Critical Intersections of Ageing,Housing and Well-Being

ABSTRACT

Across the life course, far-reaching socio-demographic and health related transformations are influencing the meaning of home in the UK. The collection presented in this Special Issue of Home Futures critically interjects into the ‘where and when’ of dwelling during the process of ageing with key concepts explored within this introductory article. It argues that, change is seen through the disruption of conventional ideas of ageing ‘at home’, traditional understandings of ‘the older person’ and its corollary social imaginaries, alongside the relationship between care practices and homes. Many of these shifts are being addressed through a range of emerging housing (and collaborative) alternatives. The article concludes by considering how discussions in this special issue disclose the home, from a range of social and material angles, as a diverse process and experience of meaning making over time, deeply entangled with health and well-being, disrupting traditional understandings of ‘place making’ in later life.