Laurie Buys

Queensland University of Technology | QUT · School of Design, Creative Industries Faculty

Background: As the global demographic shifts towards an ageing population, the significance of the built environment in facilitating ageing in place gains prominence. This study addresses the critical question of how a built environment can support older adults’ independence and enhance their quality of life. Method: Utilising a systematic review o...

People of varying ages have different reasons for visiting parks during their leisure time, and while previous studies often focused on youth activities during their play within parks, less attention has been given to which park settings are preferred by the youth themselves for socialising, and with whom they want to socialise. This study explored...

We conducted a spatial and temporal analysis of naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs) in the Greater Brisbane region using the latest ABS Census 2021 data. Four methods of spatial analysis were employed to identify the distribution and evolution of NORCs: (i) geovisualisation, (ii) spatial autocorrelation, (iii) cluster and outlier ana...

Objective: With little research investigating older Australians' experience of companion animal (pet) ownership or wildlife encounters, this paper focuses on the value of animals in their lives. Methods: Three online focus groups explored 103 older adults' lived experience of home and community, with this paper focused on interactions with anima...

Objectives Self-determination theory posits three universal psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness. Beneficence has recently been proposed as an important behaviour for improved well-being and eudaimonia. This study sought to qualitatively examine older adults’ experiences of basic psychological needs satisfaction and frustration...

The nature of the increasingly ageing populations of developed countries places residential issues of these populations at the heart of urban policy. Retirement villages as housing options for older adults in Australia has been growing steadily in recent years; however, there have been a dearth of geographical studies looking into the distribution...

As most older Australians prefer to age-in-place, providing sustainable and age-friendly communities poses a significant challenge to urban policymakers. The naturally occurring retirement communities (NORCs) have organically emerged as a collaborative model of care to support older adults to age-in-place, but neither academic research nor governme...

Purpose This study aims to explain the value co-creation and co-destruction practices of older adults in an online community (OC). Design/methodology/approach Adopting practice theory and service-dominant logic as a theoretical perspective, this paper examined an OC of older adults by conducting an inductive thematic analysis of the interactions o...

The retirement village industry in Australia has been accommodating an increasing number of residents in recent decades. However, a thorough understanding of the dynamic behaviour of the industry remains largely unknown, which prevents a better prediction of its future growth. This study incorporates system dynamics thinking into residents' relocat...

Home environments are especially important for older adults whose lives are more home-based than earlier life stages. Despite a focus on ageing in place, there often remains a mismatch between housing options prioritised by government and industry, and the needs and preferences of older adults. This paper considers the breadth of home environments...

Parks are often linked to physical activity for youth provided by park equipment and amenities. Yet, urban green spaces and parks can also afford important opportunities for young people to develop a sense of community identity and be socially engaged. Spending more time in green spaces can significantly impact the satisfaction and well-being of pa...

The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to investigate the potential benefits of online health communities (OHCs) for informal caregivers by conducting a systematic literature review. Secondly, to identify the relationship between the potential benefits of OHCs and resilience factors of older adults. Performing a thematic analysis, we identified...

In responding to the requirements of the sustainable development movement, many retirement village developers endeavor to provide a sustainable living environment for their residents. However, this cannot transpire until a thorough understanding of retirement village residents’ preferences for various features of a sustainable living environment is...

The aim of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to investigate the potential benefits of Online Health Communities (OHCs) for informal caregivers by conducting a systematic literature review. Secondly, identify the relationship between the potential benefits of OHCs and resilience factors of older adults. Performing a thematic analysis, we identified th...

This qualitative study explores the experiences of 23 professional baby-boomers in Australia who are challenging the traditional employment and retirement pathway through non-standard employment (NSE). We focus on professional part-time, casual and self-employed work within the kaleidoscope of various working arrangements that form NSE. Using a phe...

Parks are often linked to physical activity for youth provided by park equipment and amenities. Yet, urban green spaces and parks can also afford important opportunities for young people to develop a sense of community, identity and be socially engaged. Spending more time in green spaces can significantly impact the satisfaction and well-being of p...

The retirement village industry is currently facing a sustainability challenge. In response to this, developing sustainable retirement villages is becoming popular in practice, and a sustainable retirement village framework had been developed to facilitate the trend. However, this framework is more theoretical than practical, as its development lac...

A method that can assess the benefit for both the customers and the distribution grid when household or community batteries are installed without central control is presented. An agent-based model is used where the household assets' characteristics and behaviours are modelled and linked to a network model. Electricity data from dwellings on one str...

With the ageing of the population, researchers are investigating the experiences of people living and working in residential aged care. Positive organizational scholarship in healthcare (POSH) and its focus on ‘brilliance’ has not been used as a lens for understanding or improving aged care, although the sector prioritizes person-centred, consumer-...

Some older people describe learning to stay fit and healthy and exercise as a regular part of their lives. There is evidence that exercise is beneficial in terms of physical, psychological and social functioning in older adults. This paper is unique in that it is an analysis of the spontaneous discussion of exercise by older people as a priority in...

We introduce the IoT Un-Kit Experience, a co-design approach that engages people in exploring, designing and generating personally meaningful IoT applications and that also serves as a means to explore IoT kit design through in-home workshops. Un-Kit represents a seemingly uncompleted set of sensors, actuators and media elements that have a deconte...

This paper presents co-design fiction as an approach to engaging users in imagining, envisioning and speculating not just on future technology but future life through co-created fictional works. Design fiction in research is often created or written by researchers. There is relatively little critical discussion of how to co-create design fictions w...

Objectives This paper visually explores older aged care resident's day‐to‐day lived experience, as well as providing a brief introduction to the participatory documentary photography method of photovoice. Methods Ten residents from one Australian residential aged care facility collaborated with researchers and care staff to photograph, reflect on...

The continuing care retirement community (CCRC) is an emerging institutional living arrangement for the increasing number of older Chinese and has attracted a variety of investors from different sectors in China. However, the development of this sector is still in its infancy and encounters various barriers. This paper aims to explore what hinders...

This concluding chapter explores the experience of gardening in later life, focusing on how older people who move to a retirement community maintain or reinterpret their gardening identity. Gardening is a site of identity, creativity, and resilience in ageing: a strategy for defining and maintaining ‘body, mind and spirit’ in their new home. Phenom...

Editorial introduction This chapter explores the experience of gardening in later life, focusing on how older people who move to a retirement community maintain or reinterpret their gardening identity. The authors discuss how gardening is a site of identity, creativity and resilience in ageing: a strategy for defining and maintaining ‘body, mind an...

Purpose - As a viable housing option for older people, retirement villages need to provide a sustainable living environment that satisfies their residents’ needs in terms of affordability, life-style and environmental friendliness. This is, however, a significant challenge for not-for-profit developers owing to the high upfront costs involved in us...

This paper examines a successful residential peak electricity demand reduction project which employed a multi-disciplinary approach. The purpose of this study was to examine the critical success factors necessary for reducing peak demand and total energy consumption in a small Australian island community. This case study research is based on qualit...

Traditional design methods of airport terminals are mostly based on forecast models, which in many cases fail to capture the unexpected events and changes that occur every now and then. Hence, the ever growing aviation industry requires airport terminals to be planned and constructed in such a way that will allow flexibility for future design, alte...

Qualitative, semi-structured interviews, using open ended questions, were conducted with 40 older Australians and 39 seniors in Hong Kong who either had or had not engaged in organized learning in the last six months. The samples were chosen using a purposive sampling strategy. In Australia participants were identified from 400 respondents to a Per...

Public policy in many nations is seeking to transition energy generation towards renewable sources such as solar photovoltaic (PV). Reviews of past policy aimed at increasing consumer acceptance of renewable energy sources have identified that policy implementation may not align with policy objectives of energy professionals. The research and analy...

Developers are key stakeholders in delivering sustainable retirement villages. Understanding the way they perceive sustainability is of great significance in shaping the provision of sustainable living environments in this industry. This study explores village developers’ perceptions of a sustainable living environment through a comprehensive conte...

Objective: The study investigates and compares the services available in different types of registered retirement villages in Queensland (QLD). Methods: A content analysis based on official websites of 175 registered villages in QLD, Australia, is presented. Results: This study identifies 82 services, with activity organisation, emergency resp...

This paper is an overview and summary of the findings from a General Research Fund project funded (2012–2014) by the Research Grants Council of the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong to investigate cross cultural understanding of ageing and learning by seniors in Hong Kong and Australia. Results have been published separately in Boulton-Lewis...

In Australia during the past decade there has been a significant transformation of the electricity demand and supply sector. In five years from 2008 to 2013 the number of Australians installing solar photovoltaic (PV) technology grew from 8000 to more than one million. Governments in Australia used a range of policy incentives such as feed-in tarif...

Many complex social questions are difficult to address adequately with conventional methods and techniques, due to the complicated dynamics, and hard to quantify social processes. Despite these difficulties researchers and practitioners have attempted to use conventional methods not only in evaluative modes but also in predictive modes to inform de...

Smart home technology (SHT) has been identified as a promising means of helping seniors to remain independent and maintain their quality of life (QoL) while containing spiralling care costs for older people. Despite official pilot schemes in many countries to promote SHT in seniors housing, there is limited understanding of the forms that such SHT...

With the increasing growth in the ageing population of Australia, providing older adults with suitable housing has become a significant focus of policy and practice. Retirement villages are a type of housing that delivers specialized accommodation for older people. Although previous research focused on a variety of topics concerning Australian reti...

Airport terminals go through frequent transformations to accommodate technological advancements as well as changes in regulations. The ever-growing aviation industry requires airport terminals to be planned, designed and constructed in a way that will allow flexible operating conditions. The current paper revisits the significance of the ‘flexible...

The discussion of loss and its relationship to learning in this paper is based on the analysis of interview data from 39 older adults in Hong Kong and 40 in Australia. The focus of the research was on ageing and learning. The phenomenon of life changes, specifically losses, and their relationship to learning was frequently mentioned and this theme...

This paper reports on the findings of qualitative, semi-structured interviews conducted with 40 older Australian participants and 39 participants in Hong Kong who either did or did not engage in organized learning in the last 6 months. Phenomenology was used to guide the interviews and analysis to explore the experiences and perspectives of these o...

The topics on toilets, defecation and perianal cleansing may be perceived as taboo subjects in daily discussions but are markedly important from health and hygienical perspectives. In multicultural countries like Australia, no research attention has been given to domestic toilet hygienical requirements from the perspective of the society׳s cultural...

Background: This paper is about a study aimed to understand what successful ageing and later life learning mean to older adults in two cultures: Hong Kong and Australia. Objective: It aims to shed light on (1) the meaning of ageing and learning as conceptualized by elders in Hong Kong and Australia, (2) the reasons for participation in later lif...

Background: Learning in older age is associated with benefits including increases in skills, social interactions, self-satisfaction, coping ability, enjoyment, and resilience to age-related changes in the brain. It is also a fundamental component of active ageing and if active ageing objectives are to be met for the growing ageing population, barr...

Background: Given Australia's population ageing and predicted impacts related to health, productivity, equity and enhancing quality of life outcomes for senior Australians, lifelong learning has been identified as a pathway for addressing the risks associated with an ageing population. To date Australian governments have paid little attention to a...

Internationally, policy makers have been trying to find ways of changing residential electricity use through improved energy efficiency or by means of behaviour change. Drawing on evidence from an Australian project undertaken in a community of approximately 2200 residents, this paper reviews how a combination of interventions have successfully red...

Regional studies globally has a strong focus on understanding the causes of variation in the economic performance and well-being of regions and this emphasis acknowledges that the strength of the local or regional economy plays a determinant role in shaping quality of life. Regional research has been less active in considering spatial variation in...

The hobby of collecting represents the passionate acquisition and possession of a specific type(s) of object; creating a 'spectacle', to be shared with others. The fundamentality of the physical objects in collections against the backdrop of the growing ubiquity of computing provides a unique and compelling avenue for design. Based on interviews wi...

In Australia, the retirement village is regarded as a viable accommodation option for the fast-growing population of older people. Given that diverse stakeholders are involved in the village development process, a comprehensive stakeholder analysis, especially understanding stakeholders' concerns and expectations, is of critical importance to proje...

The Australian ageing society with baby boomers reaching retirement age has placed a lot of pressures on housing services. The retirement village is increasingly accepted as a suitable living arrangement for older people. Ecological theory of ageing emphasizes a match between environment and older peoples' competences. As one response to this, crea...

We examined whether self-ratings of "being active" among older people living in four different settings (major city high and lower density suburbs, a regional city, and a rural area) were associated with out-of-home participation and outdoor physical activity. A mixed-methods approach (survey, travel diary, and GPS tracking over a one-week period)...

Provision of network infrastructure to meet rising network peak demand is increasing the cost of electricity. Addressing this demand is a major imperative for Australian electricity agencies. The network peak demand model reported in this paper provides a quantified decision support tool and a means of understanding the key influences and impacts o...

This paper reports on the findings of qualitative, semistructured interviews conducted with 40 older Australian participants who either did or did not engage in organized learning. Phenomenology was used to guide the interviews and analysis to explore the lived learning experiences and perspectives of these older people. Their experiences of learni...

As cities are rapidly developing new interventions against climate change, embedding renewable energy in public spaces is an important strategy. However, most interventions primarily include environmental sustainability while neglecting the social and economic interrelationships of electricity production. Although there is a growing interest in sus...

This paper examines the socio-economic impact of mineral and agricultural resource extraction on local communities and explores policy options for addressing them. An emphasis on the marketization of services together with tight fiscal control has reinforced decline in many country communities in Australia and elsewhere. However, the introduction b...

Dwellings in multi-storey apartment buildings (MSAB) are predicted to increase dramatically as a proportion of housing stock in subtropical cities over coming decades. The problem of designing comfortable and healthy high-density residential environments and minimising energy consumption must be addressed urgently in subtropical cities globally. Th...

To better understand how to plan for an ageing demographic that resides in ever-changing community typologies. Semi-structured in-depth interviews. Community settings in rural and regional towns in Queensland. Twenty-two people aged over 65 years living in regional and rural Australia. Qualitative study of social connectedness. Thematic qualitative...

Utilities worldwide are focused on supplying peak electricity demand reliably and cost effectively, requiring a thorough understanding of all the factors influencing residential electricity use at peak times. An electricity demand reduction project based on comprehensive residential consumer engagement was established within an Australian community...

Supplying peak energy demand in a cost effective, reliable manner is a critical focus for utilities internationally. Successfully addressing peak energy concerns requires understanding of all the factors that affect electricity demand especially at peak times. This paper is based on past attempts of proposing models designed to aid our understandin...

Collecting has become a popular hobby within western society, with collectables including anything from ‘bottle tops’ to ‘skyscrapers’. As the nature and size of these collections can impact upon the use of space in the home, the purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between the collections, space in the home and the impacts on other...

Traditional Islamic teachings and traditions involve guidelines that have direct applications in the domestic sphere. The principles of privacy, modesty, and hospitality are central to these guidelines; each principle has a significant effect on the design of Muslim homes, as well as on the organization of space and domestic behaviors within each h...

With many developed countries experiencing the aging of the population, older people play a large role in contributing to environmental problems but also to environmental solutions. The purpose of this research is to understand the awareness and behavior of current older people living in retirement villages towards sustainability development. To ac...

Australian forestry plantations have doubled in the past 15 years, with rural communities harbouring a diverse range of positive and negative of economic, environmental and social impacts - the so-called triple bottom line (TBL). Utilising two Australian rural communities in Eden/Gippsland and Tasmania as qualitative case studies, this research exp...

Despite a significant increase in enrolments of postgraduate international Muslim students within Australian universities, little is known about their perceptions of life within Australian homes while undertaking their studies. The aim of this study is to investigate the ways in which students' cultural and religious traditions affect their use of...

This is an interpretive – descriptive analysis of responses to 41 open ended questionnaires returned by academicsworking beyond normal retirement age. The sample consisted mainly of academics from the United Kingdom,Australia, and New Zealand. The research addressed the question of what motivates some academics to continueworking beyond the ‘usual’...

Objective To explore fly-in fly-out (FIFO) mining workers' attitudes towards the leisure time they spend in mining camps, the recreational and social aspects of mining camp culture, the camps' communal and recreational infrastructure and activities, and implications for health.DesignIn-depth semistructured interviews.SettingIndividual interviews at...

Australia is experiencing the global phenomenon of an ageing population with the baby boomer generation starting to reach retirement age in large numbers. As a result, there is a growing need for appropriate accommodation and this will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. However, the needs of the fit, mobile and techno savvy baby boomers a...

A home embodies a sensorial space that is layered with personal memories and traces of history. The success of a home in providing a strong sense of place depends on various factors such as geographical location, climatic conditions, and occupants' world-views and perceptions. This paper explores Muslims' perceptions of privacy, modesty and hospita...

Energy usage in general, and electricity usage in particular, are major concerns internationally due to the increased cost of providing energy supplies and the environmental impacts of electricity generation using carbon-based fuels. If a "systems" approach is taken to understanding energy issues then both supply and demand need to be considered ho...

This paper critically examines research on consumer attitudes and behavior towards solar pho-tovoltaic (PV) and renewable energy technology in Australia. The uptake of renewable energy technology by residential consumers in Australia in the past decade has transformed the electric-ity supply and demand paradigm. Thus, this paper reviews Australian...

An electricity demand reduction project based on comprehensive residential consumer engagement was established within an Australian community in 2008. By 2011, both the peak demand and grid supplied electricity consumption had decreased to below pre-intervention levels. This case study research explored the relationship developed between the utilit...

AimFacilities in retirement villages form a supportive environment for older residents. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the provision of these facilities in retirement villages, which are regarded as a viable accommodation option for the ever-increasing ageing population in Australia.MethodsA content analysis of facilities in 124 retire...

The advent of the Internet of Things creates an interest in how people might interrelate through and with networks of internet enabled objects. With an emphasis on fostering social connection and physical activity among older people, this preliminary study investigated objects that people over the age of 65 years viewed as significant to them. We c...

The advent of the Internet of Things creates an interest in how people might interrelate through and with networks of internet enabled objects. With an emphasis on fostering social connection and physical activity among older people, this preliminary study investigated objects that people over the age of 65 years viewed as significant to them. We c...