The papers included in this book are from a seminar exploring the representation of older people in ageing research held by the Centre for Ageing and Biographical Studies and hosted by the Centre for Policy in Ageing. The book aims to bring together people whose work and interests would appear to be linked: oral historians and gerontologists. Both oral historians and gerontologists have an interest in older people, and for both the interview is a key research tool. The four authors, all leading UK oral historians, reflect on old age and ageing. They illustrate very different approaches within an oral history tradition, yet each has resonance and relevance for gerontologists. For all four, the foregrounding of older people’s life experience is at the heart of the interview relationship.
The papers included in this book are from a seminar exploring the representation of older people in ageing research held by the Centre for Ageing and Biographical Studies and hosted by the Centre for Policy in Ageing. The book aims to bring together people whose work and interests would appear to be linked: oral historians and gerontologists. Both oral historians and gerontologists have an interest in older people, and for both the interview is a key research tool. The four authors, all leading UK oral historians, reflect on old age and ageing. They illustrate very different approaches within an oral history tradition, yet each has resonance and relevance for gerontologists. For all four, the foregrounding of older people’s life experience is at the heart of the interview relationship. The aim of this collection is to stimulate further discussions and opportunities to share research approaches and findings amongst oral historians and gerontologists in the hope that creative research partnerships may ensue in the future.
Subject terms:
interviewing, life story work, older people, reminiscence therapy, research methods, ageing;
Content type:
research
Location(s):
United Kingdom
Series name:
The Representation of Older People in Ageing Research Series
British Journal of Social Work, 40(4), June 2010, pp.1118-1134.
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
This paper draws on recent research to examine important issues that emerge from a consideration of the meaning and management of risk in the everyday lives of people over the age of seventy five years. In a context of neo-liberalism, the paper suggests that individual responsibility for risk and the protection of individuals from risk has led to risk management and assessment becoming central to the practice of social work. Social workers' involvement with older people tends to occur in crisis situations, with the effect that stereotypical views of the vulnerability of older people may be reinforced. Drawing on data from interviews and diaries of the oldest members of twelve families, this article presents a temporal analysis of the ways in which perceptions of risk are presented by older people themselves and the people close to them. Findings revealed how older people link risk to family, health and social relations, and how they account for their continuing survival. In interviews, older people present their lives as well ordered and organised, yet, in contrast, diaries that detail their everyday activities offer evidence of a more active engagement in risk avoidance, suggesting that living with everyday risk is a relevant feature of late life. Combining these two temporal framings, the authors argue for a more process driven understanding of risk in later life and how it is evaluated and experienced by older people.
This paper draws on recent research to examine important issues that emerge from a consideration of the meaning and management of risk in the everyday lives of people over the age of seventy five years. In a context of neo-liberalism, the paper suggests that individual responsibility for risk and the protection of individuals from risk has led to risk management and assessment becoming central to the practice of social work. Social workers' involvement with older people tends to occur in crisis situations, with the effect that stereotypical views of the vulnerability of older people may be reinforced. Drawing on data from interviews and diaries of the oldest members of twelve families, this article presents a temporal analysis of the ways in which perceptions of risk are presented by older people themselves and the people close to them. Findings revealed how older people link risk to family, health and social relations, and how they account for their continuing survival. In interviews, older people present their lives as well ordered and organised, yet, in contrast, diaries that detail their everyday activities offer evidence of a more active engagement in risk avoidance, suggesting that living with everyday risk is a relevant feature of late life. Combining these two temporal framings, the authors argue for a more process driven understanding of risk in later life and how it is evaluated and experienced by older people.
Subject terms:
older people, risk assessment, risk management, social policy, social work, social work approaches, social workers, ageing;
Generations Review, 18(4), October 2008, Online only
Publisher:
British Society of Gerontology
The Oldest Generation is a multi-centre multi-disciplinary, ESRC-funded programme of qualitative longitudinal research which examines the impact of life transitions on older people, and how these changes affect inter-generational relations. This article reports on the project, describing the fieldwork and providing an example of the study is approaching the analysis of resulting data. The project tracks 12 families and uses recorded biographies, past and present.
The Oldest Generation is a multi-centre multi-disciplinary, ESRC-funded programme of qualitative longitudinal research which examines the impact of life transitions on older people, and how these changes affect inter-generational relations. This article reports on the project, describing the fieldwork and providing an example of the study is approaching the analysis of resulting data. The project tracks 12 families and uses recorded biographies, past and present.
Subject terms:
intergenerational relationships, life story work, older people, self-concept, ageing, data analysis, data collection, families;