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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Environmental gerontology
— what now? | | Author(s) | Benyamin Schwarz |
| Journal title | Journal of Housing for the Elderly, vol 26, nos 1-3, January-September 2012 |
| Pages | pp 4-19 |
| Source | http://www.tandfonline.com |
| Keywords | Ageing process ; Physical environment ; Architectural design ; Theory. |
| Annotation | In recent decades, environmental gerontology has not flourished as scholars in the field once anticipated. This article considers reasons for this claim, focusing specifically on the place of theory and, more broadly, on the undergirding functions of paradigms for the field. It is argued that progress in this diverse field has slowed in recent years due the decline of useful theoretical research on practice, the limited applicability of current research in the field, and a positivist approach that focuses on predictive, context-independent processes while ignoring the physical environment as an essential contextual element in the ageing process. Moreover, it is argued that claims that adoption of a natural or 'hard' science paradigm will reinvigorate research in environmental gerontology are misguided. Rather, the case is made that environmental gerontology is not a 'normal' or paradigmic science, as proposed by T.S. Kuhn (1962/1970), but appears currently to be in a pre-paradigmatic stage. Debates within the social-behavioural sciences about their 'real science' status directly affect environmental gerontology, particularly with regard to context-dependent and independent findings. Consistent with an interpretive perspective, it is argued that because environmental gerontology is ultimately solution-driven, it must focus on practical activity and practical knowledge generated from context-bound, everyday practices. This requires methodologies that concentrate on application by dealing holistically with particular problems as they present themselves in local situations. (JL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-121026050 A |
| Classmark | BG: R: YB3: 4D |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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