Ageing in a Gentrifying Neighbourhood: Experiences of Community Change in Later Life

an article by Tine Buffel and Chris Phillipson (University of Manchester, UK) published in Sociology Volume 53 Issue 6 (December 2019)

Abstract

Debates about gentrification continue to occupy a significant part of research investigating social change within urban communities.

While most gentrification studies have focused on ‘incoming’ groups or those forced to leave, there is limited knowledge about those remaining in neighbourhoods undergoing community change.

This study explores the experiences of older residents who have lived much of their adult lives in the same locality but whose views have been largely ignored in gentrification research.

The article presents findings from seven focus groups (N = 58 participants) and 30 in-depth interviews with people aged 60 and over living in Chorlton, a gentrifying neighbourhood in Manchester, UK. These highlight both daily challenges and exclusionary pressures, as well as how people are active in creating a sense of belonging in a neighbourhood undergoing social change.

The article concludes by discussing the need for interventions which promote the ‘age-friendliness’ of communities and ensure that older people have a space to be seen and heard in their neighbourhood.

Full text (PDF 18pp)

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“Here, There, in between, beyond…”: Identity Negotiation and Sense of Belonging among Southern Europeans in the UK and Germany

an article by Fabio Quassoli (University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy) and Iraklis Dimitriadis (University of Milan, Italy) published in Social Inclusion Volume 7 Issue 4 (2019)

Abstract

Whilst most of the research on intra-EU mobility has mainly focused on the reasons behind young Southern Europeans leaving their home countries, and secondly on their experiences within the new context, little is known about their sense of belonging and identities.

This article aims to fill this gap by exploring Italian and Spanish migrants’ social identity repositioning and the cultural change characterising their existential trajectories.

Drawing on 69 semi-structured interviews with Italians and Spaniards living in London and Berlin, this article shows that the sense of belonging to one or more political communities and boundary work are related to individual experiences and can change due to structural eventualities such as the Brexit referendum. While identification with the host society is rare, attachment to the home country is quite common as a result of people’s everyday experiences.

Cultural changes and European/cosmopolitan identification are linked to exposure to new environments and interaction with new cultures, mostly concerning those with previous mobility experience, as well as to a sentiment of non-acceptance in the UK.

However, such categories are not rigid, but many times self-identification and attachments are rather blurred also due to the uncertainty around the duration of the mobility project.

This makes individual factors (gender, age, family status, employment, education) that are often considered as determinants of identification patterns all but relevant.

Full text (PDF 11pp)

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Transnational solidarity, the refugees and open societies in Europe

Magdalena Nowicka and Dennis Ohm (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany) and Łukasz Krzyżowski (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany; AGH University of Science and Technology, Poland) published in Current Sociology Volume 67 Issue 5 (May 2019)

Abstract

The recent massive arrival of war refugees has challenged Europe’s political unity and fanned the flames of anti-Muslim populism.

Both discourses have been framed in terms of ‘shifting solidarity’ between the European Union member states, their citizens and the refugees. At stake, the article argues, is the delineation of the collectivity linked by the obligation of solidarity.

Drawing on insights from research conducted among Polish-born migrants in Germany about their practices and attitudes towards helping the refugees, and critically engaging with social theory, this article offers a new understanding of transnational solidarity.

Transnational solidarity, it argues, needs to embrace the tension between cosmopolitan and particularistic ideas around belonging. The article suggests defining transnational solidarity as an outcome of socio-culturally and spatio-temporally specific interpretations of the norm of solidarity.

As a heuristic device, transnational solidarity helps us to understand the shifting alliances for and against refugees in Europe.

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Stop Worrying About What Others Think of You: 7 Tips for Feeling Better

a post by Marc Chernoff for marc and angel's Hack life blog [via World of Psychology’s Psychology Around the Net]

When you’re feeling insecure, you typically don’t notice the hundreds of people around you who accept you just the way you are. All you notice are the few who don’t.

In what way is the fear of rejection holding you back? How would your life be different if you didn’t (subconsciously) care what everyone thought about you?

To answer these questions, we must understand that the vast majority of our fears and anxieties amount to one thing: Loss.

We fear:

• Losing our youth.
• Losing our social status.
• Losing our money.
• Losing control.
• Losing our comfort.
• Losing our life.

We also fear, perhaps more than anything else, being rejected by others. This kind of fear is widespread and debilitating if left unaddressed. Why is this fear so deeply entrenched in us? In ancient tribal times, being rejected from the safety of the community could have meant death. So it’s no wonder, really, that we want to be accepted by others.

Fear is an instinctual human emotion designed to keep us aware and safe – like the headlights on a car clearly illuminating the twists and turns on the road ahead. But too much fear, like high beams blinding us on a dark, foggy road, can cause the loss of the very thing we feared losing in the first place.

Continue reading

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‘It’s about giving yourself a sense of belonging’: community-based history and well-being in South Yorkshire

an article by Alison Twells, Penny Furness, Sadiq Bhanbhro and Maxine Gregory (Sheffield Hallam University) published in People, Place and Policy Volume 12 Issue 1 (2018)

Abstract

Community-based history is a highly popular activity in neighbourhoods across the UK. The practice of participants doing history, often their own, for themselves, marks its difference from other forms of public history.

This article explores the potential of involvement in community-based history in the South Yorkshire region to contribute to social identity and well-being and to inform public policy concerning health and well-being.

We demonstrate the role of community-based history in building social capital and creating social links, tackling the negative effects of isolation, providing meaning, generating public and self-esteem and contributing to personal identity and belonging, as well as improving and strengthening local communities.

Our findings reveal the relevance of community history in shaping notions of place and a sense of well-being through citizen engagement, with implications for community governance. At the same time, the limitations of our sample, particularly in relation to ‘race’ and whiteness, mirror an overwhelmingly White British participation in the wider heritage sector.

This confirms that issues concerning whose history is represented, by whom, for what purpose and in what context, require consideration and raises questions regarding the role of community history in enabling a nostalgic and exclusive place-making with negative implications for non-British and/or non-white inhabitants.

Full text (PDF 21pp)

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‘I shouldn’t be living there because I am a sponger’: negotiating everyday geographies by people with learning disabilities

an article by Andrew Power and Ruth Bartlett (University of Southampton, UK) published in Disability & Society Volume 33  Issue 4 (2018)

Abstract

Learning disability policy has for some time been framed by the goal of inclusion which purports to enable people with learning disabilities to lead a ‘life like any other’ person.

This article examines the extent to which this is the case in England, by tracing the lived experiences of people with learning disabilities within their communities.

The article draws on two interlinked qualitative studies involving interviews that examined their local place-based experiences of inclusion and exclusion. The findings reveal ‘moments of inclusion’ and opportunities for social encounter from peer support, but these were situated amidst wider experiences of exclusion and harassment.

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Psychological and demographic predictors of undergraduate non-attendance at university lectures and seminars

an article by Jeremy Oldfield, Judith Rodwell, Laura Curry and Gillians Marks (Manchester Metropolitan University, UK) published in Journal of Further and Higher Education Volume 42 Number 4 (May 2018)

Abstract

Absenteeism from university teaching sessions is increasingly becoming a common phenomenon and remains a major concern to universities. Poor attendance has significant and detrimental effects on students themselves, their peers and teaching staff.

There is, however, a lack of previous research investigating demographic and psychological predictors of non-attendance alongside salient reasons students offer for their absence; it is this ‘gap’ that the present study attempts to fill. We approached 618 undergraduate university students from a single UK university studying various courses to complete a bespoke questionnaire assessing their estimated percentage attendance at lectures and seminars over the academic year.

Students answered demographic questions, completed psychometric tests of perceived confidence (Perceived Confidence for Learning) and university belongingness (Psychological Sense of School Membership), and rated the degree to which possible reasons for non-attendance applied to themselves.

Multiple regression analyses were carried out separately for estimated attendance at lectures and seminars. Results demonstrated that significant predictors of poorer attendance for both scenarios were:

• experiencing a lower sense of belongingness to university;
• working more hours in paid employment;
• having more social life commitments;
• facing coursework deadlines; and
• experiencing mental health issues.

Improving a sense of belonging to university and targeting interventions at students working in paid employment may be effective means of increasing attendance.

Providing support for students with mental health issues, structuring courses around coursework deadlines and helping students to organise their attendance around social activities could also be advantageous.

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