Hilje van der Horst

Wearing the arm (or not). Reconceptualising notions of in- and exclusion in Disability Studies

In the last few years the social model in Disability Studies has been criticized for focussing too much on social and environmental factors in mechanisms of in- and exclusion and overlooking the materiality and embodied experience of disability. In this article we look at the specific ways in which an assistive technology can give shape to mechanisms of in- and exclusion. We study the biographic narratives of two women who use(d) an arm prosthesis. As a result, new notions of what in- and exclusion can entail for people and how they come about are formulated.

Accomplishing information and change in a smart grid pilot: Linking domestic practices with policy interventions

Behind the roll-out of smart metering technologies lies a belief that personalised, fact-based information enhances energy awareness and allows consumers to modify their behaviour. Amongst others, practice theoretical accounts have shown that this belief stems from a linear, individualistic and unrealistic interpretation of behaviour change. However, in emphasising how energy use is grounded in socio-material realities of everyday life, practice-based studies have not fully considered the role and potential of information in reconfiguring domestic practices. This article takes a smart grid pilot project in the Netherlands as a case to analyse the interrelatedness of policy interventions, information flows and domestic practices. We argue that the effects of policy interventions on domestic practices can be better understood when seen as part of a configuration of heterogeneous practices. This helps in understanding when and how information is accomplished and put-to-work, and in identifying what can be done to improve smart grid interventions.

How to live with a taboo instead of ‘breaking it’. Alternative empowerment strategies of people with incontinence.

Many people throughout the world live with incontinence; however, they infrequently make themselves heard. In the current discourse regarding patient empowerment, this poses a dilemma as empowerment is usually believed to emerge from an individual or collective voice. A common response is that the existing taboo needs to be confronted. However, the metabolic functions of the body are a private affair for most people and ‘coming out’ as being incontinent is not necessarily empowering. Hence, solely focusing on the breaking of taboos to improve empowerment will not suffice. On the basis of nine biographic interviews with Dutch people with incontinence, we examine alternative forms of empowerment in everyday practices. Three strategies are detected: creating predictability; learning how to hide incontinence products; and confronting the incontinent body in encounters with others. Above all, it appears that sharing experiential knowledge on all these matters with peers can lead to more promising forms of empowerment for this group of people than the more usual discourse on voice and taboo.

Disability, family and technical aids: a study of how disabling/enabling experiences come about in hybrid family relations

Research regarding disabling situations generally focuses on disabling situations within a public society ‘out there’. In our research, however, the intimate family setting itself appears central to the emergence of dis/enabling experiences. Moreover, the relationships that shaped these experiences not only involve human family members but also the technical aids associated with people’s specific impairments. Biographical narratives with users of three different technical aids including hearing aids, arm prostheses and incontinence products demonstrate that studying the making of (dis)ability in hybrid family settings is essential for understanding the emergence of (dis)ability in general.

How convenient!? Adolescents’ vistas on food competences in a convenience context

Purpose Adolescents are at a stage in their life course in which they increasingly become choosers, buyers and preparers of food. Hence, they develop and employ required competences. Current food-related competences of adolescents are shaped in an environment with an abundance of convenience foods. Simultaneously food education has been limited in many western countries. The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize how young practitioners engage with the notion of convenience in a context with a strong presence of convenience foods. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data for this paper have been collected in a Dutch high school context following a participatory approach in focus group discussions. Data have been gathered from different food-related exercises within a classroom context. Findings The findings indicate that adolescents’ food competences and meanings are heavily shaped by the abundant presence of convenience foods. Adolescents perceive a nuanced picture of a skilful consumer that incorporates convenience foods in ways that minimize time efforts, preserves some preparatory tasks for fun cooking and has knowledge about health effects of fatty and salty foods. Originality/value The investigation takes a novel look on convenience food consumption from a practice perspective scrutinizing competences through the lens of adolescent practitioners. The authors make a plea for tapping into the potential of research on children and adolescents as novice performers of practices to understand how practices are shaped and changed and how practices recruit new practitioners.

History and Institutions in the Rebuilding of Social Capital after Forced Resettlement in the Philippines and Indonesia

Abstract Resettlement results in the loss of social capital from which poor households can draw resources for sustenance, survival and wellbeing. While Putnam deems social capital formation as pre-determined by a community’s history of civic engagement, the institutional view argues that social capital is generated through the institutions’ interventions. Utilising a comparative approach involving two resettlement sites, one in the Philippines and one in Indonesia, this article presents findings on the explanatory power of these two perspectives. The Philippine case is greatly influenced by the institutional interventions while the Indonesian case testifies to the validity of the theoretical perspective of Putnam.