Life Space Research Articles

An attempt to define perceptive and sensitive mapping through lived space experiments

An attempt to define perceptive and sensitive mapping through lived space experiments

Environment in institutional care settings as a promoting factor for older individuals' mobility: A systematic review.

BackgroundMobility is important for health and well‐being; however, older individuals in institutional care settings are relatively sedentary. The environment has an increased influence on mobility in older age due to changes in individual functioning; thus, environmental mobility support solutions for this population are needed.ObjectivesThe aim of this systematic review was to identify elements of the environment that have been used in the content and delivery of interventions to promote mobility and to assess the effects of these interventions on mobility outcomes.DesignA systematic literature search was conducted using CINAHL and MEDLINE from the earliest date through 30 September 2020 for randomised controlled trials, quasi‐experimental and pre‐post design studies. Inclusion and critical appraisal of articles were conducted by two independent researchers. Data were extracted and synthesised.Setting and participantsStudies were included if they had employed some element of the environment in the content and/or delivery of the intervention and had assessed mobility‐related outcomes of older individuals in institutional long‐term care settings providing full‐time care.MeasuresStudies were included if they reported data on mobility‐related outcomes including aspects of physical activity, physical function, life space and functional autonomy.ResultsEight studies were included. Physical, social and symbolic elements of the environment were utilised in the interventions. Positive effects on mobility outcomes were reported in exercise interventions utilising environmental elements mostly as supportive components.Conclusions and implicationsEmpirical evidence about effective mobility interventions employing elements of the environment as main intervention components is lacking. A serious dilemma exists about the need for older individuals’ independence and mobile/active late life and the lack of support for such initiatives in long‐term care. Given the emphasised relationship of the environment and mobility with age due to changes in functioning, environmental solutions require further examination.

TRICKSTER ARCHETYPE IN MODERN MEDIA CULTURE: SHOWIZATION AND DEMONISM

The paper is devoted to the study of the Trickster archetype in modern media culture. The attention is focused on certain literary texts – the literary heritage of the world (“The Golden House” by S. Rushdie) and Ukraine (“The Black Raven” by V. Shkliar), movies (“Joker” (2019) by Todd Phillips), the personalities of political elite (Donald Trump, V. Zelensky, Prankster Joker, etc.) and others, who made the Trickster archetype one of the key archetypes in the modern world and Ukrainian media space as well as in everyday life. For instance, in Shkliar’s novel “The Outcast. The Black Raven” – the postcolonial embodiment of the national collective unconscious injured by the traumatic Russian expansion, the role of Trickster belongs to the Black Raven – the rebel commander, defender of the Kholodnyi Yar (Cold Ravine). In another novel, “The Golden House” by S. Rushdie, Trickster is represented by twin heroes, tycoon Nero Golden and the Joker. The latter one ran for the US presidency and took office. The poetics of the composition fits into the Gothic novel scheme. Both characters are Gothic thieves demonstrating the “shadow” side of the Trickster archetype. The image of the Joker here is closely connected with American reality by means of movie and show format, where the function of the Trickster archetype is assigned to US President Donald Trump, whose image is also being demonized. In Ukraine, the role of Trickster is assumed by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky – a comedian and showman accompanied by his colleagues from the “Studio Quarter – 95”. The atmosphere of the show deals with national politics, life and media space. The negation of the new government is reflected in Prankster Joker’s grim jokes over deputies. The global trends towards escalating infernal power of the Trickster archetype, related to the absurd motives, the sinister carnival and the madness, are expressed in the movie “Joker” (2019), with its main character Arthur Fleck as a Trickster as well. Therefore, in modern media space the interpenetration of the semiotic codes of the media, the Internet, culture and real life can be observed. The personality perceives and reproduces these signs. The Trickster archetype has become a mega media image in the collective unconscious. It brought in focus the motives of the show and the game, acquired demonic traits against the background of social dehumanization and socio-political problems.

Youth, race and the inner-city estate: narratives of everyday life in Manchester's Hulme, 1970–1994

AbstractSince the 1970s, policy-makers and the press have rendered young people, particularly those of black and minority ethnic backgrounds, synonymous with ‘inner-city crisis’. Focusing upon the high-density, multi-storey Hulme estate in Manchester, this article seeks to transcend stereotypical representations of these residents and illuminate their perspectives of the inner city. Conceptualizing the inner city as both a discursive and lived space, the article traces the intersections between its representation and residents’ testimonies to assess how far residents used prevalent understandings of Hulme as a space of crime and social breakdown respectively to shape their narratives of everyday life.

Stranger spaces: Embodiment, space and language in the collaborative life writing novel The Fortune Finder

The present study takes The Fortune Finder (2008) by Edward van de Vendel and Anoush Elman as a case in point to demonstrate how interactions between material bodies, space and power constitute some characters as strangers or, in other words, as bodies deemed out-of-place. The novel is an example of collaborative life writing and describes how a young, Afghan refugee and his family flee the Taliban regime and seek asylum in the Netherlands. Building on Sara Ahmed’s work (2000), I demonstrate how their bodies are recognised as stranger bodies through a demarcation of social spaces, which involves including or excluding particular bodies based on matters of normativity and deviance. Protagonist Hamayun and his family are implicated in shifting relationships with power and space that cause their bodies to be recognised as out-of-place in various ways, dependent on their circumstances. The notion of dwelling takes centre stage in these dynamics. It denotes the actual spaces that Hamayun and his family (are allowed to) inhabit, but it also features in a metaphor that links friendship with spaces of belonging. An implied lack thereof suggests how Hamayun eventually seems to perceive himself as a kind of stranger.

Description Relationship between Urban Space and Quality of Urban Life. A Geographical Approach

The examination of the relationship between the construct of urban space and the construct of the quality of urban life is based on the knowledge that their common element is real physical space, i.e., the place. If the examination of the relationship between the two constructs is to be meaningful, then both must be on the same comparative basis—that means quality. The paper consists of two parts—the first part, which is theoretical, takes the form of conceptualization of urban space and the quality of urban life, including the identification of elements which affect them. The result of conceptualizing urban space into a qualitative form is liveability. The result of conceptualizing the quality of urban life is a holistic quality of life in the city, containing two domains—subjective and objective. The second part of the paper is the application of both constructs in a concrete form, based on measuring the values of these indicators and also the analysis of the results. The measurement takes the form of liveability on the one hand and of satisfaction with the place and/or satisfaction with the quality of urban life on the other hand.

Predicting Autonomous Shuttle Acceptance in Older Drivers Based on Technology Readiness/Use/Barriers, Life Space, Driving Habits, and Cognition

Shared autonomous vehicle services (i. e., automated shuttles, AS) are being deployed globally and may improve older adults (>65 years old) mobility, independence, and participation in the community. However, AS must be user friendly and provide safety benefits if older drivers are to accept and adopt this technology. Current potential barriers to their acceptance of AS include a lack of trust in the systems and hesitation to adopt emerging technology. Technology readiness, perceived ease of use, perceived barriers, and intention to use the technology, are particularly important constructs to consider in older adults' acceptance and adoption practices of AS. Likewise, person factors, i.e., age, life space mobility, driving habits, and cognition predict driving safety among older drivers. However, we are not sure if and how these factors may also predict older adults' intention to use the AS. In the current study, we examined responses from 104 older drivers (Mage = 74.3, SDage = 5.9) who completed the Automated Vehicle User Perception Survey (AVUPS) before and after riding in an on-road automated shuttle (EasyMile EZ10). The study participants also provided information through the Technology Readiness Index, Technology Acceptance Measure, Life Space Questionnaire, Driving Habits Questionnaire, Trail-making Test Part A and Part B (TMT A and TMT B). Older drivers' age, cognitive scores (i.e., TMT B), driving habits (i.e., crashes and/or citations, exposure, and difficulty of driving) and life space (i.e., how far older adults venture from their primary dwelling) were entered into four models to predict their acceptance of AVs—operationalized according to the subscales (i.e., intention to use, perceived barriers, and well-being) and the total acceptance score of the AVUPS. Next, a partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM) elucidated the relationships between, technology readiness, perceived ease of use, barriers to AV acceptance, life space, crashes and/or citations, driving exposure, driving difficulty, cognition, and intention to use AS. The regression models indicated that neither age nor cognition (TMT B) significantly predicted older drivers' perceptions of AVs; but their self-reported driving difficulty (p = 0.019) predicted their intention to use AVs: R2 = 6.18%, F (2,101) = 4.554, p = 0.040. Therefore, intention to use was the dependent variable in the subsequent PLS-SEM. Findings from the PLS-SEM (R2 = 0.467) indicated the only statistically significant predictors of intention to use were technology readiness (β = 0.247, CI = 0.087-0.411) and barriers to AV acceptance (β = −0.504, CI = 0.285-0.692). These novel findings provide evidence suggesting that technology readiness and barriers must be better understood if older drivers are to accept and adopt AS.

Exploring lived space of new build urban environment through photovoice interview: The case of Donau City in Vienna

Contemporary urban design practices and new build redevelopment projects are strongly influenced by economic, social and cultural practices, as well as by new forms of management. These different parameters play on the quality production of open spaces. Investigating the place study of Donau City, a mixed-use neighbourhood located in Vienna (Austria), we look at the relations between the new build environment and the daily users. We aim at analysing the intrinsic qualities of this specific urban environment by understanding how residents and users perceive and decode it (emic perspective) and how they make sense of everyday practiced and lived space. In order to do so, we followed a citizen science approach, using photovoice interview with thirteen residents and workers. Commenting the photographs they took on a one-day walk, the users revealed their daily life of their surrounding through design and planning elements associated with personal stories. We analyzed the corpus via inductive coding which helped us conceptualize the users’ lived space (Lefebvre, 2000), perceptions and interactions. Discussing the results, we contribute to a deeper understanding of the role forms, functions and scales play on open spaces’ quality in new build redevelopment projects by bringing in a bottom-up and sensitive approach. We show that social and spatial fragmentation could be mitigated by paying more attention to the emic perceptions and intangible values in spatial conception.

Reclaiming the Right to Play in the Child-Friendly City to Achieve SDG 11: The Case of Depok City

The purpose of this research is to analyze the process of expanding commoning that happens when children produce playgrounds in the streets. The responsibility imposed by the award received by Depok with the title of the child-friendly city is questioned in this research. We use the theory of expanding commoning by Stavrides to analyze the continuity of production of children’s playgrounds in the street. The research method used is a qualitative method by conducting a discourse on the theory of common space and correlating the theory of expanding commoning with the theory of lived space. We conducted field observations in two different streets to make a comparison about which street’s characteristics produce continuous lived space. Our study shows that access for children to use other people’s resources, to control the programming of space, and to reach out to the social space easily are the factor that makes expanding commoning continue to happen. This research is expected to be able to broaden the knowledge about the concept of child-friendly settlements.

Social engagement and cognitive decline in older African‐Americans: The Minority Aging Research Study

AbstractBackgroundSocial engagement in later life is associated with lower rates of cognitive decline and dementia, but most research has been conducted in primarily White cohorts. Little is known about this relationship in older African Americans, and some promoters of cognitive reserve in Whites may not have the same benefits in African Americans.MethodsWe used data from the Minority Aging Research Study (MARS), a study of community‐dwelling African American older adults in Chicago. Social activity was measured using an 8‐item scale assessing frequency of participation in activities involving social interaction (mean=2.5, SD=0.5). Social network size was assessed as the number of children, family, and friends seen at least once a month (mean=6.4, SD=6.0). Loneliness was measured with a 5‐item Likert scale assessing perceived emotional isolation (mean=2.1, SD=0.6). Life space is a measure of spatial movement through 6 zones of the environment from bedroom (smallest) to out of town (largest) (mean=5.5, SD=0.9). Global cognitive function was the average of z‐scores for 19 standard cognitive tests. Linear mixed models were used to test for associations with level and rate of change in cognitive function, with terms for each social engagement variable at baseline, age at baseline, sex, education, time since baseline, and interactions with time.ResultsParticipants (n=768; mean age=73.5, SD=6.3) were followed for an average of 6.3 years (SD=4.6). Higher social activity was related to slower cognitive decline (est=0.021, SE=0.008, p=0.011), but not to level of cognitive function (est=0.052, SE=0.036, p=0.15). Alternately, loneliness and a larger life space were not related to cognitive decline (est=0.003, SE=0.007, p=0.64; and est=0.001, SE=0.005, p=0.82, respectively), but were related to level of cognitive function (est=‐0.104, SE=0.029, p<0.001; and est=0.062, SE=0.020, p=0.002, respectively). Social network size was not related to level or rate of change in cognition.ConclusionsIn older African Americans, social activity was related to less cognitive decline, while other measures of social engagement were related to level but not rate of change in cognitive function.

Regulating social spaces of everyday life: The bottom-up codification of a behavioural norm in a Dutch municipal bylaw

The utopian ideal of public space promotes it as the material manifestation of a freely accessible realm in which diverse social entities engage with one another to discuss, debate and form an inclusive society. In reality, access to and participation in public space is restricted for various factions of society. In the regulation of public space formal law plays a large, albeit not exclusive, role. Intrinsically formal law is presumed to come from above and beyond, and technically law is indeed emanated top-down by legislative authorities. The initiative to law however can originate from elsewhere. The case study presented here offers an example of law being enterprised from within, as a bottom-up strategy to claim dominance over a shared space and an attempt to block access to competing factions. Law then is wielded as a vertical power strategy between citizens, in which government has to struggle not to be reduced to an instrument in the hands of the elite. The case narrates the attempt of residents to have a municipal ban on using cannabis installed on a small inner-city playground in Amsterdam. This article aims to contribute to literature on juridification of social relations, the production of space and the making of law.

Correlates of perceived stress among community-dwelling older African Americans.

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to identify correlates of perceived stress among older African Americans.Methods and findingsGuided by the National Institute on Aging’s (NIA) Health Disparities Research Framework, we grouped correlates into four levels–environmental, sociocultural, behavioral, and biological, and performed a cross-sectional analysis using ordinal logistic regression models. Participants included 722 African Americans [mean age = 73.61 years (SD = 6.33)] from the Minority Aging Research Study (MARS). Several protective correlates from environmental (e.g., larger life space), sociocultural (e.g., larger social network size), behavioral (e.g., more purpose in life), and biological (e.g., higher global cognition) levels were associated with a lower odds of having higher levels of perceived stress.ConclusionsPerceived stress was associated with established and novel correlates from every level. Future research is needed to examine how changes in these correlates may impact perceived stress in older African Americans.

Life activity patterns and mild cognitive impairment in older adults

AbstractBackgroundShifting and diminished circadian and activity rhythms characterize older adults with cognitive impairment, but studies rarely consider both temporal and spatial aspects of life activity patterns. We examined hourly in‐home and out‐of‐home activity patterns using latent group trajectory models to characterize older adults with and without mild cognitive impairment (MCI).MethodOne hundred and seven older adults (19 with MCI) living alone (age=81.1±7.8, 76.6% women) from the Oregon Center for Aging & Technology (ORCATECH) were included. MCI was determined by the Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) score = 0.5. In‐home and out‐of‐home activities were collected via passive infrared motion sensors in each room and contact sensors on the doors to the home for one month. Daily life activity patterns were estimated based on: 1) the hourly average amount of time the participant spent in each major life space (bathroom; bedroom; kitchen; living room) and out‐of‐home, and 2) the hourly average number of trips the participant made to each room and out‐of‐home.ResultLatent trajectory models identified two distinct patterns for three features: time spent out‐of‐home (high/low outdoor), time spent in the kitchen (high/low kitchen occupancy), and trips to the bathroom (more/fewer bathroom trips) from 5 am to 1 pm. Older adults with MCI were more likely to follow a pattern of low outdoor time (β=‐2.65; p=0.03), high kitchen occupancy (β=1.68; p=0.01), and more bathroom trips (β=1.60; p=0.02) than those with intact cognition. There were no differences in the bedroom patterns or time spent in the bathroom in older adults with and without MCI from 5 am to 1 pm. Potential covariates were controlled in the models (age, gender, years of education, sleep duration, gait speed, and the number of rooms in the house).ConclusionDifferent social and mealtime activity patterns from early morning to early afternoon may signal cognitive changes and contraction of life‐space. These may be caused by environmental, as well as chronobiological changes accompanying MCI. Unobtrusive measurement of in‐home and out‐of‐home activity patterns may be useful for integrating with chronotherapies in developing strategies to mitigate potential daily mal‐entrainment for older adults at risk for MCI and dementia.

Culinary Transitions: Understanding the Kitchen Space through Advertisements

The kitchen is a ubiquitous space in the Indian domestic life. Yet there hasn’t been a lot of academic discourses around it possibly owing to its mundane nature. In this article, I aim to look into the gendered nature of the space through advertisements. Advertisements are digital documents of everyday life This article deliberates on the notion that the kitchen space in urban India is undergoing a change in representation and participation. This change is reflected in the advertisements, created keeping in mind the perception of its viewers. The gendered segregation of work done in the home space have been deliberated by a number of scholars. This article problematises those viewpoints and challenges DeVault’s notion of “womanly conduct” through the narrative of the advertisements.

Spatiotemporal Evolution and Regional Differences in the Production-Living-Ecological Space of the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River

The urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, which is the second largest urban agglomeration in China, represents a typical land space range of ecological vulnerability in China. Large differences occur in economic development mode between resource- and non-resource-based cities in this basin area. Accurate identification of the evolution and regional differences in the production-living-ecological space (PLES) is very important in order to elucidate the development and utilization of land space in the region. At present, relevant research has largely focused on the classification and determination of PLES temporal and spatial patterns. Temporal and spatial pattern research has mainly considered a single scale of administrative division, whereas fewer studies have analyzed the temporal and spatial patterns and regional differences in the PLES in ecologically fragile natural watersheds. Therefore, based on PLES classification, the regional differences in the PLES between two types of cities in the basin are measured via the Theil index and exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA). First, the ecological space (ES) of these two types of cities in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is compressed by the production space (PS) and living space (LS), in which the ES of resource-based cities is compressed for a longer period, and the phenomenon involving PS compression by the LS and ES mainly occurs in non-resource-based cities within the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Second, the PLES of these two types of cities exhibits the characteristics of spatial aggregation, and high- and low-density areas of the PLES remain relatively stable. Third, the regional differences in the PLES of the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River mainly originate from intraregional differences. The PLES of these two types of cities in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is more sensitive to changes in economic development than to those in the population distribution.

Variability in Human Mobility during the Third Wave of COVID-19 in Japan

Understanding factors regarding individual variability in human mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic would help inform future political and medical decisions. Particularly, understanding environmental factors would provide effective evidence for future urban development and the construction of a mobility service. Given the limited related evidence thus far, we investigated inter-individual variability in human mobility regarding life space during COVID-19 in Japan. We conducted an online survey to assess human mobility, demographics, and personality, and city structure surveys for objective environmental factors. Human mobility was assessed using the Life Space Assessment (LSA) questionnaire. Result revealed that the total LSA score was significantly higher in people who were men, middle-aged, working, living with their children, public transportation users, bicycle users, and car drivers, and those having a higher score for extraversion and ego resiliency and a lower score for conscientiousness. People living in the city with high traffic on the roads between plains and mountains had a higher LSA score, and had a lower score where there were many plains with a consistent road density, revealing diverse individual and environmental factors associated with human mobility during the pandemic. Thus, political decisions for urban development should consider these characteristics, the pandemic, and individual convenience.

SOME INSIGHTS OF NEOLIBERALISM IN BRAZIL FROM A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Abstract Aiming to raise the debate and new interpretations, we rehearse a reflection to understand different, apparently, unrelated processes through an articulating effort of current issues, whose theoretical formulation and empirical apprehension still generate confusion. To underline that Brazil is not a particular case, we make some critical remarks on the neoliberalization of life and the social production of space. (a) To clarify the financialization mechanisms, (b) highlight some interactions among financial capital actions, backed by the State, the media, and right-wing political movements, and (c) underline how the persistence of patrimonialism and unconcluded modernity intensify such processes. Events unfolding around the world, changes in the Brazilian political and economic conjuncture, since late 2015, suggest the imperative to consider: a) the character of the capitalist State in the current phase of financialization and accumulation; b) the very meaning of neoliberalism; c) the association of financial capital and the State; d) the societal and sociability crisis established, given the dehumanization of the Other and the potential of financialization transform all elements and aspects of life and social space into financial assets.

농촌주택 평면구성 및 공간사용실태 연구 - 전라남도 장흥군 장평면 우산마을 중심으로 -

This study aims to provide necessary, basic data for future space planning of rural housing through a survey on the size of residential space and space utilization of rural housing. To this end, this study analyzed the size and space of rural houses in actual use, and also analyzed the size and characteristics of the essential space for life, which were collected via a survey. In particular, Usan Village in Jangheung, where various types of houses and renewed houses coexist due to continued changes in the form of traditional villages, was selected for a target site of this study. In next step, this study analyzed the current status of use of each house in the village and compared the size of each space and the characteristics of space utilization. The results of the survey on Usan village, on where divergent traditional and modern houses are located, are as follows. First, Usan Village has total 31 traditional and modern houses. Most of the houses have been aging and formed into old-age households, and the expansion, renovation, and construction of farmhouses have progressed. Second, the population of Usan Village has decreased, and the number of residents per household is currently 1.4. Third, the survey indicates that the flat area of rural houses was 80.6㎡, the average area of living space was 54.1㎡, and the average area of water storage space was 26.5㎡, and the main living area was changed to water storage space due to the decrease in the number of household members in rural areas.

Inherently Safer Design (ISD) solutions in confined spaces: Experts' practical feedback in Quebec, Canada

This paper aims to present solutions based on inherently safer design (ISD) principles to reduce the risks related to interventions in confined spaces and discuss their general applicability in a design situation or installations retrofit by exploring the client-designer relationship. A literature review on ISD solutions for confined spaces was followed by semi-structured interviews with 15 experts on confined space risk management in Quebec, Canada. The solutions based on the literature were confronted with experts' knowledge on the real-life conditions in confined space interventions. Our findings suggest that considering the entire confined space's life cycle in design is still very marginal (e.g., questioning the necessity to enter). As designers tend to replicate non intrinsically safe designs (e.g., inadequate entrances dimensions), end-users will then require retrofitting the structures over time, which usually costs more in the long term than implementing ISD solutions earlier. The notion of declassification of the confined space to eliminate confined spaces can give a false sense of safety. Its contribution to accident prevention depends on how end-users reduce inherent or task-induced risks as low as reasonably practicable. This paper categorized declassification into three types: total elimination, hazard-oriented declassification, and organizational declassification. Since the implementation guidelines of these risk reduction strategies are absent in the literature, this paper provides a risk reduction model that shows how end-users can identify application phases, declassify a confined space, and manage residual risks at the design phase in real-life environments.

Niepełnosprawna codzienność w kontekście koncepcji naznaczania społecznego

The article deals with issues related to the perception and positioning of people with disabilities in the current space of social life. It was pointed out that the conditions and possibilities of everyday human existence and access to everyday spaces, regardless of the level of fitness, constitute an opportunity to normalize interpersonal relations based on a democratic order.