Cassandra Phoenix

Durham University | DU · Department of Sport & Exercise Sciences; Durham Institute of Medical Humanities

Looking for patterns of meaning within data to identify central themes is a common form of analysis within qualitative research in sport, exercise and health. Far less analytical scrutiny has been directed toward how researchers might deal with 'exceptional' data. That is, data which, while telling us something about a central theme, deviates signi...

Becoming and being old is not what it used to be! How we imagined people and ourselves would grow old has been undergoing significant transformations. Babies born today can expect to live very long lives – well into their 80s – at least in the affluent West. Those we refer to as babyboomers (a birth cohort spanning the end of World War II and the e...

Pleasure is an under-researched and under theorized concept within health and health-related areas, particularly in relation to physical activity in older age. This gap is addressed here. The paper forms part of a larger qualitative project conducted between March 2011 and July 2013 within which fifty-one physically active older adults (age sixty t...

In spite of the large-scale growth of walking sport (WS) programmes globally, limited research has explored the experiences of the key stakeholders involved in such programmes (i.e. decision-makers, facilitators, and players). We aimed to explore stakeholder experiences of community-based WS programmes to better understand the appeal of such sport...

Our aim for this research was to identify and examine how recreation enthusiasts cope with and mitigate the violence of pollution as they strive for wellbeing in polluted “blue spaces” (e.g., seas, oceans). Our methodology to undertake the research was ethnography (online and offline), including autoethnography and informal interviews (40). The stu...

The full text is open access and available at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16138171.2021.1899969

In the context of an increasing clinical need to better support self-managemt for people living with long-term health conditions an interest in the role of social networks has emerged. Given that sport participation often provides opportunities for social engagement, a space to explore Self-managemt at the intersection of medical sociology and the...

Physical activity (PA) is an important lifestyle component of long-term health management for organ transplant recipients, yet little is known about recipients’ experiences of PA. The purpose of this study was to shed light on this experience and to investigate the possible implications of PA in the context of what is a complex patient journey. Phe...

There is a growing body of research signaling the health and wellbeing benefits of being in blue space. Here, we advance this intellectual agenda by critically examining perceptions and experiences of coastal blue space among residents of a disadvantaged, predominantly African American community who report limited engagement with their local coasta...

Purpose Tai Chi is increasingly being used as a complimentary therapy in hospice care to help patients self-manage multiple and complex health needs. However, currently there is limited understanding of Tai Chi from patients’ perspective, including what participation in this mindfulness based movement (MBM) exercise means to their experiences of li...

We have seen longstanding research interest in diverse nature–society relations, including contentious debates regarding what nature is, the role of humans within or apart from it, and how varied types of non-human nature shape different societies and individuals within society. Within this work, relatively little attention has been paid to an impo...

The last two decades have seen growing unease regarding the negative health consequences of increasing levels of physical inactivity, both in the UK and further afield. Public health initiatives and interventions aimed at increasing levels of physical activity have, therefore, become somewhat commonplace. Within the current context of demographic c...

Informed by narrative inquiry, this chapter makes a unique contribution to the theorizing of focus groups. It uses empirical data from research into perceptions of physically active older adults across the life course to critically examine the work that stories can do within a focus group setting. According to Frank (2010), the work of stories is t...

Looking for patterns of meaning within data to identify central themes is a common form of analysis within qualitative research in sport, exercise and health. Far less analytical scrutiny has been directed toward how researchers might deal with ‘exceptional’ data. That is, data which, while telling us something about a central theme, deviates signi...

Concepts of social practice are increasingly being used to understand experiences of everyday life, particularly in relation to consumption and healthy lifestyles. This article builds on this in the context of lives disrupted and reshaped by chronic illness. It uses social practice theory to examine the lived experiences of individuals with Ménière...

A growing evidence base highlights "green" and "blue" spaces as examples of "therapeutic landscapes" incorporated into people's lives to maintain a sense of wellbeing. A commonly overlooked dimension within this corpus of work concerns the dynamic nature of people's therapeutic place assemblages over time. This article provides these novel temporal...

People's lived experiences of chronic illness have garnered increasing research interest over the last 30–40 years, with studies recognising the disruptive influence of illness onset and progression, both to people's everyday lives and to their biographical selves. We extend this body of work, drawing on the experiences of people living with Ménièr...

In this paper we present a scoping review of literature on aging, visual impairment, and physical activity. Our objectives are to: (a) explore the available literature on aging, physical activity, and sight loss; (b) describe how participation in physical activity by older adults with visual impairment is understood by researchers; and, (c) identif...

Drawing on the experiences of different groups of older people, this volume brings together contributions from sociology, social gerontology, sport science, physical cultural studies, health geography and psychology to ask critical questions about physical activity and sport in later life. Addressing key issues such as the cultural and discursive c...

How do older adults learn to tell a ‘new’ story about, through, and with the body? We know that narratives are embodied, lived, and central to the process of meaning-making – and as such, they do not lie in the waiting for telling, but are an active part of everyday interaction (Phoenix & Sparkes, 2009). Telling stories about ourselves to others is...

Recent research suggests coastal environments may promote human health and wellbeing. This article explores the diverse coastal experiences sought out by residents of two towns in south west England to promote and preserve their personal wellbeing in the context of their everyday lives. It draws on the findings of an in-depth interpretive study con...

Within the sociology of sport there is a small but rich strand of literature concerned with understanding the sensual experiences of sport and physical activity. Whilst this work has advanced our understanding of the sensual sporting body, less is known about the mature sporting body and the sensual experiences of older adults. Gaining an insight i...

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Many older adults experience what is clinically recognised as frailty but little is known about the perceptions of, and attitudes regarding, being frail. This qualitative study explored adults’ perceptions of frailty and their beliefs concerning its progression and consequences.29 participants aged 66 to 98 with varying degrees of frailty, resid...

In this chapter we address the topics of sport and leisure as they relate to the field of cultural gerontology. We begin by outlining the role of masters sport and its potential to resist dominant narratives of ageing. This involves discussions around the issues of gender imbalance, bodily decline, and the complexity of resistance to social stereot...

Using a dialogical narrative approach, this original research explored how combat veterans experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder made sense of peer relationships with other veterans and what effects these relationships had on their well-being. Interviews and participant observations were conducted with 15 male combat veterans (aged 27-60 year...

Ménière's disease significantly impacts on an individual's mental health and subjective well-being (SWB). Ménière's disease is an unpredictable illness that impacts on mental health. The symptom triad of vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing loss all contribute to the disabling nature of the condition. To date, limited research has investigated the mental...

To investigate the ways in which participation in physical activity is prevented or facilitated among older people with acquired sight loss later in life. Qualitative research. Interviews were conducted with 48 visually impaired adults age 60+ years, recruited from a range of settings including local sight loss organisations and via talking newspap...

This methods paper contributes to the recent proliferation of methodological innovation aimed at nurturing research encounters and exchanges that facilitate in-depth insights into people's everyday practices and routine place encounters. By drawing on the experiences of an interpretive study seeking to situate people's green space wellbeing practic...

This article uniquely examines the ways a group of male combat veterans talk about masculinity and how, following post‐traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD ), they performed masculinities in the context of a surfing group, and what effects this had upon their health and wellbeing. Participant observations and life history interviews were conducted with...

Deeply embedded within Western society, the prevailing master narrative associated with growing older is the narrative of decline (Gullette, 1997). This narrative depicts ageing as natural and an inevitable downward trajectory of physical deterioration, as ‘a tragedy of accumulating deficits, diminishing reserves, and deteriorating attractiveness a...

This essay examines the assumptions of green space use underpinning much existing green space and health research. It considers opportunities to move the field forward through exploring two often overlooked aspects of individual agency: the influence of shifting life circumstances on personal wellbeing priorities and place practices, and the role o...

Background: There is mounting evidence that access to the marine environment contributes to human health and well-being, and may provide greater health benefits for deprived coastal communities than non-deprived ones. However, research suggests that marginalized populations are underrepresented in marine engagement activities, issues, literacy and...

Although researchers have identified the benefits of physical activity on well-being, there is little evidence concerning the effects of nature-based physical activity. We investigated the effect of one nature-based activity-surfing-on the well-being of combat veterans experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We conducted interviews and p...

To situate my interest in the future, I must first look back. Though not aware of its name at the time, I ventured into gerontology in 2001 as I studied for my PhD under the supervision of Professor Andrew Sparkes - Director of the “Qualitative Research Unit” within the School of Sport and Health Sciences. Collectively, the QRU’s interests revolved...

Background and Objectives: There is mounting evidence that access to the sea/coast contributes to human health and well-being, and may provide greater health benefits for deprived coastal communities than non-deprived ones. However, research suggests that deprived communities are under-represented in marine access and engagement activities, environ...

PurposeThis chapter proposes a way to deepen our understanding of the health impacts of climate change. It explores how and why individuals and communities may experience the climate change-human health interface in different ways. Design/methodology/approachWe suggest that the concepts of structural vulnerability and narrative inquiry can provide...

In this article, we construct a story of one woman's (Justine's) experience of learning to run within the context of a beginners group. Building upon existing scholarship on narrative, aging, and physical activity, this work is part of a larger ethnographic project examining subjective accounts of the physically active aging body across the life co...

Interdisciplinary research is increasingly promoted in a wide range of fields, especially so in the study of relationships between the environment and human health. However, many projects and research teams struggle to address exactly how researchers from a multitude of disciplinary and methodological backgrounds can best work together to maximize...

Within qualitative research in the social sciences, the last decade has witnessed a growing interest in the use of visual methods. Visual Methods in Physical Culture is the first book in the field of sport and exercise sciences dedicated to harnessing the potential of using visual methods within qualitative research. Theoretically insightful, and m...

This paper critically discusses mixed-method research. A case is first offered as to why it is relevant for physical therapists to engage with the mixing of quantitative and qualitative methods and engage in debates about the intermingling of these techniques. Next, to provide a context for critical discussion several paradigms are outlined. Follow...

Previous research has shown that young adults tend to identify and reinforce negative stereotypes of growing older. They can express both fear and trepidation regarding the bodily changes that occur with advancing age. With this in mind, in this paper we draw upon Frank’s () theoretical framework of socio-narratology to examine the work that st...

In Western society, the narrative of decline dominates the aging process. We know very little about the complexities of how people resist this narrative. The purpose of this article is to understand how a group of mature natural bodybuilders resisted the narrative of decline. In-depth life story interviews were conducted with 13 natural bodybuilder...

This article seeks to contribute empirically, theoretically, and methodologically to the literature on aging bodies and identity construction by analyzing auto-photographic data from a project that explores the embodied identities of mature bodybuilders. The analysis identified three salient identities that the participants constructed via the auto...

Readers should also refer to the journal’s website at http://www.informaworld.com/rqrs and check volume 2, issue 2 to view the visual material in colour.Adopting visual methods can enhance our understanding of the social world. By encompassing a multitude of forms including photographs, videos, maps, diagrams, symbols and so forth, images can provi...

This article seeks to expand our understanding on narrative and the analysis of stories researchers invite and collect in the domain of aging studies. To do so, we first offer an understanding of what narrative inquiry can be by laying out a theoretical basis for this kind of research, and making a case for the relevance of narrative as an alternat...

Within qualitative research it is widely recognised that context matters. Despite this, in recent years a number of authors have observed a lack of contextual awareness in qualitative analysis. The purpose of this article is to analyse categorically and holistically the process of meaning making in relation to context using data generated during a...

This paper considers the narrative complexity of the telling–listening process that unfolds in qualitative interviews in sport and exercise sciences. Acknowledging the narrative complexity of memory itself, it critiques the perhaps implicit assumption in many researchers’ minds that interviewees’ responses to interviewers’ questions are to be taken...

In this article, the authors consider the different approaches that can be used to examine the relationship between physical activity and aging. They propose that much is to be gained in our awareness of this dynamic relationship by drawing on multiple forms of knowledge that can generate diverse understandings regarding the impact of physical acti...

This article is informed by recent trends in narrative research that focus on the meaning-­‐making actions of those involved in describing the life course. Drawing upon data generated during a series of interactive interviews with a 70-­‐year-­‐old physically active man named Fred, his story is presented to illustrate a strategic model of narrative...

Boundaries, as described by Frank (2004), are cultural conventions that separate what is close—on "our side" of the boundary—from what is distant and potentially unap-proachable, risky, and problematic. As such, boundaries are partly about distancing practices that have consequences. Indeed, our side of the boundary means us (insiders) as opposed t...

Abstract Drawing on qualitative sports research, we present two stories in this article to explore how researchers may orient to boundaries within research encounters and perform boundary crossing and re-crossings. The performative narrative analysis of the stories highlights the fluidly shifting dynamics of sustaining and crossing boundaries and h...

There has been limited research focusing upon experiences and expectations of the self in relation to the anticipated passing of time and subsequent process of self-aging. Accordingly, this article aims to examine the narrative construction of selves in time in a population of young athletes (mean age 20 years). A number of anticipated changes to t...

In this article, we explore how biographical time is storied by a particular group of young athletes in relation to their experiences and expectations of embodied ageing. The data suggests that at present, as able and sporting bodies, their everyday experi-ences are framed by the cyclical, maximizing, and disciplined notions of time associated with...

Drawing on life history data generated from interviews with young athletes at an English university, this paper explores the narrative maps provided to them by older team members and the ways in which these influence perceptions of self-ageing. Three possible selves associated with mid-life emerged from the analysis for detailed focus. These are th...

© Cambridge University Press 2006. Published version reproduced with the permission of the publisher. Drawing upon interviews with 22 young athletes aged on average 20 years, this article examines the ways in which they used observations of the ageing and old age of their family members to shape the ways in which they anticipated the ageing of thei...

This paper draws on data generated by life history interviews with 22, university based, young athletes to explore their narrative maps of aging. Three key resources were seen to provide information that shaped individual stories of self-aging. These were as follows: family members, older team members, and the undergraduate curriculum. Each of thes...

Background and purpose: Given the dominance of negative cultural stereotypes focusing on the decline of the physical body in later life, growing old may be particularly significant for those who assign great importance to their able, functioning bodies. This study explored young athletes' perceptions of growing old by examining the relationships am...