Health Consciousness, Running and Female Bodies: An Ethnographic Study of 'Active Ageing'

This thesis is composed of an ethnography of the Women’s Running Network (WRN) – a non-elite women’s-only running group – and explores participant’s lived experiences of health and ageing (and the intersection of these) in this physical context. In-depth interviews (n = 25), inclusive of case studies (n = 3), with women between the ages of 29 and 66 allowed insight into the subjective contours of participant’s lives, and their particular biographical trajectories culminating in WRN participation. Several types of narrative analyses were applied to the emergent data, and results from these revealed insights into if, why, how, and when women engaged with health and ‘active ageing’ messages across the life course. Despite a prevalence of health knowledge, participants tended to report long periods of inactivity throughout their lives – citing the often documented barriers to physical activity such as a lack of time and caregiving responsibilities. However, a vast majority of participants also cited an utter lack of confidence with respect to physical activity, often stemming from highly influential poor early experiences. Embodying a perceived ‘non-sporting’ identity for as long as they had, they were foreclosed to the idea of physical activity despite simultaneously feeling pressure to participate. For many, it was particular life events - or ‘critical moments’ – that brought participation in physical activity to the forefront (i.e., birthdays, relationship issues, bereavement, and health scares). A consideration of these within this thesis explores the complex link that exists between health consciousness and action. In addition, alternative narratives about who could be a runner (within WRN advertising and by word of mouth) ‘hailed’ participants to reconsider their foreclosed narratives, by offering a ‘fun and non-competitive’ atmosphere for people ‘of all ages, sizes, and abilities’. Once pushed to action and within the WRN setting, participants described learning about themselves and their bodies, and thus developed the capacity to tell new stories. As such, through a narrative lens, this thesis introduces the stories that participants responded to (or not), and the stories that they used to tell, felt able to tell, and – in some cases – learned how to tell about health, about ageing, and about running/physical activity. Conclusions from this work have implications for both policy and practice, advocating for the necessity of comprehensive insight into people’s perceptions and lived experiences of (active) ageing within the context of life history, current life stage, and the everyday

Narratives at work: What can stories of older athletes do?

notes: Available in 'FirstView' onlinepublication-status: Publishedtypes: ArticlePrevious research has shown that young adults tend to identify and reinforce negative stereotypes of growing older. They can express both fear and trepidation regarding the bodily changes that occur with advancing age. With this in mind, in this paper we draw upon Frank's (2010) theoretical framework of socio-narratology to examine the work that stories can do. We take as a working example the impact that stories of ageing told by masters athletes might have upon young adults, and specifically their perceptions of (self-)ageing. Three focus groups were carried out with the young adults to examine their perceptions of (self-)ageing prior to and following their viewing of a digital story portraying images and narratives of mature, natural (‘drug-free’) bodybuilders. Our analysis pointed to a number specific capacities that stories of masters athletes might have, namely the potential to re-open young adults sense of narrative foreclosure, the stretching and expanding of existing imagined storylines, and increasing the availability of narrative options. We propose that understanding what stories can do, what they can do best, and the narrative environments that help and hinder this process is essential if our programmes and policies are to produce the results that are wanted

"A sisterhood of those who bear the mark of of pain" : female competitive soccer players talk about risk, pain and injury

This study examines how females with distinct life histories and social backgrounds (but shared experiences as competitive athletes) interpret sport-related pain, risk, and injury. The research was guided by the following research questions: What kind of perspectives do competitive female soccer players have toward pain, risk and injury? Are differences in sport-related socialization related to different social experiences with and/or understandings of pain and injury? Are varying types and strengths of social support networks related to different kinds of pain and injury expression, or different social experiences of pain and injury? An oral narrative approach (Reissman, 1993) was used to interview twelve female competitive soccer players from Vancouver area soccer teams who had sustained a relatively severe or debilitating injury. Each athlete was asked to participate in two interviews. These athletes were asked (a) about their injury "story;" (b) about their early and continual socialization into the sport; and (c) to identify and describe the role of influential figures throughout their sporting participation. In general, athletes used a combination of narrative styles when describing their injury experience—with the most prominent and pervasive being a "restoration to health and fitness" narrative. Other prominent narratives included a "hopelessness" narrative (within which athletes expressed their frustration and lack of control over the injury), and a "hope" narrative (within which athletes spoke of becoming more aware of their bodies and their limitations through the experience of injury). Interviewed athletes also described how the injury led to a disruption of their identity/self, and how they developed new perspectives on risk-taking because of their injury experience. Also, athletes suggested a practical application of a "pain club" (or support group) for similarly injured competitive athletes. These findings have theoretical implications for understanding how athletes make sense of their bodies and their injuries, and practical implications for how injuries may be attenuated and more thoroughly addressed. These findings also speak to the power of socialization into a competitive sport culture, resulting in a deep submersion within an athletic identity for these athletes.Education, Faculty ofKinesiology, School ofGraduat

Health consciousness, running and female bodies : an ethnographic study of 'active ageing'

This thesis is composed of an ethnography of the Women’s Running Network (WRN) – a non-elite women’s-only running group – and explores participant’s lived experiences of health and ageing (and the intersection of these) in this physical context. In-depth interviews (n = 25), inclusive of case studies (n = 3), with women between the ages of 29 and 66 allowed insight into the subjective contours of participant’s lives, and their particular biographical trajectories culminating in WRN participation. Several types of narrative analyses were applied to the emergent data, and results from these revealed insights into if, why, how, and when women engaged with health and ‘active ageing’ messages across the life course. Despite a prevalence of health knowledge, participants tended to report long periods of inactivity throughout their lives – citing the often documented barriers to physical activity such as a lack of time and caregiving responsibilities. However, a vast majority of participants also cited an utter lack of confidence with respect to physical activity, often stemming from highly influential poor early experiences. Embodying a perceived ‘non-sporting’ identity for as long as they had, they were foreclosed to the idea of physical activity despite simultaneously feeling pressure to participate. For many, it was particular life events - or ‘critical moments’ – that brought participation in physical activity to the forefront (i.e., birthdays, relationship issues, bereavement, and health scares). A consideration of these within this thesis explores the complex link that exists between health consciousness and action. In addition, alternative narratives about who could be a runner (within WRN advertising and by word of mouth) ‘hailed’ participants to reconsider their foreclosed narratives, by offering a ‘fun and non-competitive’ atmosphere for people ‘of all ages, sizes, and abilities’. Once pushed to action and within the WRN setting, participants described learning about themselves and their bodies, and thus developed the capacity to tell new stories. As such, through a narrative lens, this thesis introduces the stories that participants responded to (or not), and the stories that they used to tell, felt able to tell, and – in some cases – learned how to tell about health, about ageing, and about running/physical activity. Conclusions from this work have implications for both policy and practice, advocating for the necessity of comprehensive insight into people’s perceptions and lived experiences of (active) ageing within the context of life history, current life stage, and the everyday.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Physical activity among older people with sight loss: A qualitative research study to inform policy and practice

The findings tell us about the benefits older people with visual impairment experience in being active and the challenges they face, and identify ways to increase participation.Thomas Pocklington Trus

e-Delphi survey process and timeline.

e-Delphi survey process and timeline.</p