Fifty at fifty: long term patterns of participation and volunteering

Fifty at Fifty (50 at 50) combined longitudinal quantitative data from the 1958 British Birth Cohort Survey, i.e. the National Child Development Study (NCDS), with qualitative biographical interview data from the associated Social Participation and Identity Study (SPIS) to investigate long term patterns of participation and volunteering

Using virtual street audits to understand the walkability of older adults' route choices by gender and age

Walking for physical activity can bring important health benefits to older adults. In this population, walking has been related to various urban design features and street characteristics. To gain new insights into the microscale environmental details that might influence seniors’ walking, details which might be more amenable to change than neighbourhood level factors, we employed a reliable streetscape audit tool, in combination with Google Street View™, to evaluate the ‘walkability’ of where older adults choose to walk. Analysis of the routes selected by a purposive sample of independently mobile adults aged 65 years and over living in Edinburgh, UK, revealed a preference to walk in more walkable environments, alongside a willingness to walk in less supportive settings. At times, factors commonly considered important for walking, including wayfinding and legibility, user conflict, kerb paving quality, and lighting appeared to have little impact on older adults’ decisions about where to walk. The implications for policy, practice, and the emerging technique of virtual auditing are considered

Fifty at fifty: long-term patterns of participation and volunteering among the 1958 NCDS cohort at age 50

Fifty at Fifty (50 at 50) combined longitudinal quantitative data from the 1958 British Birth Cohort Survey, i.e. the National Child Development Study (NCDS), with qualitative biographical interview data from the associated Social Participation and Identity Study (SPIS) to investigate long term patterns of participation and volunteering. Fifty interview transcripts were abstracted for analysis from the SPIS. These related to individuals who presented three distinct, and intrinsically interesting, patterns of participation within the NCDS data – nonparticipants, perennial participants, and frequent participants at age 50. At odds with most previous findings on the characteristics of participants vis-a-vis non-participants, quantitative data records indicated that these individuals shared numerous demographic traits. The SPIS data seemed potentially well placed to illuminate why these relatively similar individuals demonstrated noticeably different patterns of participation. The study’s major contribution is to the debate around data triangulation, in terms of the role methods play in defining and measuring participation and volunteering, and the potential for certain methods to ‘miss’ particular forms or levels of these activities. Comparing between the datasets, at times noticeably different narratives of participation emerged with alignment being poorest for those individuals identified in the quantitative data as non-participants. For these individuals, the SPIS often revealed a diverse range of occasional, past and informal involvements. Religious participation, too, produced divergent stories in the datasets. Further, the qualitative transcripts revealed a greater number of associational affiliations than the quantitative data while, conversely, trade union and political activity was rarely mentioned in the qualitative interviews, even though the quantitative data indicated that it was widespread. Several factors might explain the ‘gap’ between the datasets. Key amongst these are: (1) the timing of key life events, and the consequences of these transitions upon subsequent participation, (2) the way the NCDS appears to privilege ‘joining in’ with associations over other forms of participation, and (3) the pathways through participation that were picked up in the qualitative interviews, and those that were not pursued. Multiple forms of participation and volunteering were identified amongst the 50 interviewees while multiple motives drove these activities. There were similarities in motive between the three types of participant but, notably, relevant to the frequent and nonparticipants, altruistic motivations played a more central role in perennials’ long-term commitment. Triggers, both people and events, were important in providing opportunities for individuals to participate in desired and unfamiliar ways, but these were not equally accessible. Conversely, workplace factors, such as shift work and self-employment, had a major impact upon an individual’s ability to get and stay involved. Future research investigating the precise impact and mechanisms of these catalysts will provide further valuable insight into participation and volunteering pathways.<br/

‘The long arm of the household’ : Gendered struggles in combining paid work with social and civil participation over the lifecourse

Successfully combining paid work and various forms of social and civil participation is commonly assumed to be beneficial to both individuals and society. However, integrating these aspects can be difficult, partly because they can be connected through relationships that operate in opposing directions. Combining paid work and participation over the long-term can be especially challenging, as the factors informing each continuously evolve. This balancing act may be particularly difficult for women who, relative to men, often manage greater caring responsibilities alongside work. To build understanding of these matters, we weave together the participation and work-related content of the UK’s National Child Development Study and the associated 2008 Social Participation and Identity Study. We unpack a bidirectional relationship between these items and highlight the importance of household dynamics and gender. Paid work’s flexibility, autonomy, predictability and intensity also emerge as important elements in achieving a sustainable work-participation balance

Perspectives on ‘novel’ techniques for designing age-friendly homes and neighborhoods with older adults

Worldwide, growth in the older population creates a pressing need to develop supportive environments that enhance quality of life as people age. Too often, built environments present barriers and challenges to older adults that compromise independent living and adversely affect health and life outcomes. Designing homes, buildings, and neighborhoods with older adults, through exercises in participatory or co-design, could help ensure that environments are better able to facilitate healthy aging. However, while it is potentially advantageous to involve this age group in environmental design decisions, doing so can be difficult. Analysis of and guidance on effective ways to involve older adults in these activities could make the challenge easier. With this aim in mind, this article provides critical perspectives on eight &ldquo;less traditional&rdquo; engagement techniques&mdash;walking interviews, photovoice, photo-elicitation, Talking Mats&reg;, participatory mapping, drawing, model-making, and the &ldquo;Design Fair&rdquo;. Insights into the strengths and limitations of these techniques, gained from observation of their use in participatory design activities, as well as feedback collected from older co-design participants, are presented. The article concludes by offering a number of practical recommendations for those interested in designing age-friendly homes and neighborhoods with older people

Going solo : Lifelong nonparticipation amongst the NCDS cohort

Some Western societies, it has been claimed, are experiencing an unparalleled downward trend in participation with manifold grave consequences predicted. In the UK, for instance, politicians and commentators, arguably influenced by Robert Putnam’s warnings of a collapse in community, have spoken of Britain’s broken society and disintegrating social ties with opting out, or nonparticipation, presented as a pressing social problem. Set against this background, and engaging directly with Putnam’s thesis, we explore the scale, characteristics and causes of an ‘extreme’ variant of nonparticipation - lifelong nonparticipation – amongst members of a national birth cohort, the UK’s National Child Development Study (NCDS) (1958). Joining structured survey data collected over the lifecourse, with biographical interview data collected from cohort members at age 50, we identify lifelong nonparticipation as a minority disposition associated with distinctive demographic traits being, for example, highly gendered and related to lower educational attainment. In terms of causes, time pressures arising from work and caring duties or, more precisely, the feeling of being ‘pressed for time’, appeared critical. The implications for policy and practice are considered