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This book uses a multidisciplinary approach to examine the relationship between the quality of domestic life and the home environment, in its material and relational dimension, with individual and social happiness, in the context of current changes.The theme of happiness and well-being is framed within two significant changes, themselves affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic: the relationship between the individual's quality of life and engagement within the community, and the role of new technologies in everyday life. The authors highlight the relational nature of happiness and the centrality of the home environment in its promotion. Three dimensions of psychosocial well-being in the home are analysed: the personal one, consisting of a sense of stability, intimacy and sharing; the social one, which considers the domestic environment as a place for civic education and, in times of pandemic, the site of professional activity and the physical one, consisting of spaces, services and architectural styles.This book is ideal for readers who wish to cross disciplinary boundaries and explore the topic of domestic happiness in its different facets. The target audience is both professional researchers and advanced graduate and undergraduate students.Chapter 12 of this book is now OA on www.taylorfrancis.com under Creative Commons licens CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0.

The Spatial Practices series is premised on the observation that places are inscribed with cultural meaning, not least of all in terms of collective constructions of identity. Such space-based constructions can manifest in material and immaterial, explicit and implicit forms of heritage, and they are crucial factors in the promotion of a group's wellbeing. It is this intersection of spaces, heritage and wellbeing that the present volume takes at its object. It considers ways in which institutional spaces in their materiality as well as in their cultural inscriptions impact on the wellbeing of the subjects inhabiting them and explores how heritage comes to bear on these interrelations within specific institutions, such as prisons, hospitals or graveyards.

This textbook is a comprehensive guide for students interested in using participatory research to improve people's health and well-being. It is especially designed for those working in the fields of health and social welfare who are embarking on participatory research for the first time. It covers all phases in participatory research from “getting started,” to “acting for change,” “continuing the journey” and “articulating impact.” Its unique format helps readers understand the essence of participatory research as a comprehensive approach for doing research which is underpinned by a set of fundamental values.The many real life examples of participatory research projects from around the world inspire readers to find creative ways to manage their own research while opening up new horizons in their work.

There is a widespread interest in wellbeing, the healthy body and public health. However, there are also many simplistic and uncritical interpretations of what wellbeing or a healthy body should ‘look like'. By focusing upon wellbeing through examples taken from fitness-related activities, which are often considered unproblematic routes to achieving wellbeing and greater public health, this book explores contemporary understandings of the body and the conflicting ways in which it is considered, in different contexts, times and spaces, either as the possession of the individual or that of society (or both).Whose Body Is It Anyway? adopts an embodied approach, employing sociological theory along with examples drawn from empirical research collected through participation (by the author) in an intense period of physical training. The intention is to explore the embodied experiences of ‘doing'an intensive period of physical activity and, subsequently, attempt to understand, in more depth, the range of personal, social, psychological and physical factors that undoubtedly contribute to engaging in such an activity.The emerging story reveals much about the physical and emotional experience of a body being put through intensive exercise, not only in terms of contrasting forms of pleasure and pain, but also various socio-cultural ‘issues'relating to relationships of power, trust and the role of ‘expert'health advisor. Written in a clear and engaging style, the book provides an accessible introduction of more complex theoretical explanations which will appeal to academics and practitioners involved in broad aspects of sport, physical activity, health and wellbeing.