ABSTRACT

This article presents non-representational theory as a methodological approach to illuminate the lived experiences of older people’s everyday mobilities using the example of travel to and from the supermarket. Previous studies have explored older people’s everyday mobilities and highlighted a number of challenges, but few studies address specific journeys, such as grocery shopping, and none empirically engage with non-representational theory. In this article we draw on a qualitative research study with participants over the age of 65 living in the UK as we investigate their journeys to and from the supermarket. We present three vignettes/personas of individuals with differing needs and experiences and find that their grocery shopping journeys are not just about procuring food but also sociomaterial events that both affect, and are affected by, bodily capabilities and mental wellbeing. We conclude with some recommendations for designing older people’s local travel experiences and argue for non-representational theory as a method for accessing the socio-material world in which everyday mobilities play out.

摘要

本文将非表征理论作为一种方法论方法，以使用往返超市的旅行为例来阐明老年人日常出行的生活体验。以前的研究探索了老年人的日常活动并强调了许多挑战，但很少有研究涉及特定的旅程，例如杂货店购物，也没有任何研究经验性地涉及非表征理论。在本文中，我们对居住在英国的 65 岁以上的参与者进行了一项定性研究，调查他们往返超市的旅程。我们展示了具有不同需求和经验的个人的三个小插曲/角色，并发现他们的杂货店购物之旅不仅是采购食物，还包括既影响又受其影响的社会物质事件，身体能力和心理健康。我们最后提出了一些关于设计老年人当地旅行体验的建议，并主张将非代表性理论作为一种进入日常流动性发挥作用的社会物质世界的方法。