In recent years there has been an increasing use of visual methods in ageing research. There are, however, limited reflections and critical explorations of the implications of using visual methods in research with people in mid to later life. This paper examines key methodological complexities when researching the daily lives of people as they…

Numbers of people with dementia are projected to grow to 682 million globally by 2050. However, despite this escalation, the widely-promoted positive vision of lifelong learning throughout all ages does not extend to people with dementia. Constructions of learning for those with dementia are predominantly limited to the management of symptoms. The…

This article reports on work to date by an arts practice-led research team exploring older adults' conceptions of, and connectivity with, the physical, social and cultural landscapes in which they locate themselves. The team is based at the Department of Art and Design, University of the West of England (UWE) and has conducted fieldwork,…

Large-scale social surveys of visually impaired people often explore participants' mobility and travel behaviour. What is methodologically more challenging is gathering participant-centred data in relation to their own interpretation of the barriers they face. Findings from a national survey of visually impaired people are presented in this…

This article addresses how older people understand and engage with contemporary art in the gallery context--whether there is something unique to the art, the format of the visits, the pedagogical approaches used by gallery educators, the social contact, or a combination of all these factors. It also addresses the psychosocial barriers to…

Children with autism spectrum disorders (10 boys and 4 girls aged 7 to 18 years) from a shire county in England were interviewed as part of a study examining the experience and attitudes of families towards daily life and short breaks support. Techniques for obtaining consent and eliciting the children's views are detailed, including triangulation…

The idea of the University of the Third Age (U3A) in the UK was originated from France. However, the British formed their own model of U3As, which is different from that of French U3As. What are the reasons that the British U3As developed in a different way? The purpose of this article is to interpret and criticize in-depth the reasons why British…

The Yalom curative factors Q-sort was administered to eight members of an outpatient therapy group for older women, who were also interviewed on the group experiences they had viewed as helpful. Results indicated that Existential Awareness was seen as the most helpful mechanism, in contrast to other studies in which interpersonal factors have been…

As a result of new adult education funding arrangements announced by the Further Education Funding Council for England in Spring 2000, short courses of 3 or 6 hours duration were developed that concentrated on basic skills, information and communications technology (ICT), and general lifelong learning subjects. Courses were designed as minicourses…