tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/home-3179/articlesHome – The Conversation2023-11-22T13:17:37Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2169822023-11-22T13:17:37Z2023-11-22T13:17:37ZIn the face of death, destruction and displacement, beauty plays a vital role in Gaza<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560196/original/file-20231117-30-92u3yz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C79%2C1273%2C769&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A Palestinian boy climbs on a painted wall in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City in 2015.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/57cf18ae6b8f5ba693497e1a/1474043441471-IU9GCH5Y6Z8XP9M8EYQJ/ap_63282323864.jpg?format=2500w">AP Photo/Hatem Moussa</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A small group of children in Gaza sit on a lavender and white blanket around a small tray of beverages, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CzLUHMvtgo3/">singing “Happy Birthday”</a> to a young girl. Like kids her age around the world, she wears a sweatshirt with prints of Elsa and Anna, characters from “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2294629/">Frozen</a>”; unlike most kids, she’s celebrating against a backdrop of a war that, according to United Nations estimates as of Nov. 10, 2023, <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-44">has already killed more than 4,500 Palestinian children</a>. </p>
<p>Celebrating anything might seem odd or even inappropriate in the face of so much devastation – and in the middle of what <a href="https://time.com/6334409/is-whats-happening-gaza-genocide-experts/">many are calling genocide</a>.</p>
<p>However, <a href="https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/75786">in the research</a> of refugees that I’ve conducted with interdisciplinary artist and scholar <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14036096.2013.789071">Devora Neumark</a>, we’ve found that the urge to beautify one’s surroundings is widespread and profoundly beneficial – particularly so in the harrowing circumstances of loss, displacement and danger.</p>
<p>When people find themselves displaced from their homes, finding or creating beauty can be just as vital as food, water and shelter.</p>
<h2>Gaza today</h2>
<p>In the first six weeks of the Israel-Hamas war, <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-40">70%</a> of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have had to leave <a href="https://sheltercluster.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/public/docs/Shelter%20Cluster_Gaza_Factsheet_%202%20November%202023.pdf?VersionId=yrMZO8faThzipir9nFzf8RNaOaefLSE5">or have lost their homes</a>. </p>
<p>Over half crowd into some type of emergency shelter, while others squeeze into relatives’ and neighbors’ homes. Food is scarce and increasingly expensive. According to the U.N., people are getting only <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-flash-update-10#:%7E:text=As%20hostilities%20entered%20the%20tenth,Ministry%20of%20Health%20in%20Gaza">3% of the water</a> they need each day. Much of the water they do have is polluted.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Bird's eye view of buildings destroyed by bombs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560199/original/file-20231117-31-2b7ial.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560199/original/file-20231117-31-2b7ial.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560199/original/file-20231117-31-2b7ial.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560199/original/file-20231117-31-2b7ial.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560199/original/file-20231117-31-2b7ial.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560199/original/file-20231117-31-2b7ial.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560199/original/file-20231117-31-2b7ial.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The rubble of the Yassin mosque, at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in October 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/AP23282360829019-1696857723.jpg">Hatem Moussa/AP Photo</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Crops <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/11/6/our-hearts-burn-gazas-olive-farmers-say-israel-war-destroys-harvest">are dying</a>. Moms <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20231106-malnourished-sick-and-scared-pregnant-women-in-gaza-face-unthinkable-challenges">are not producing breast milk</a>. People are getting <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/disease-runs-rampant-gaza-clean-water-runs-rcna125091">sick</a>. There are severe shortages of <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190108-lack-of-medicated-baby-formula-puts-life-of-gaza-children-at-stake/">baby formula</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-hospital-procedures-without-anaesthetics-prompted-screams-prayers-2023-11-10/">anesthesia</a> for those <a href="https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/nightmarish-gazas-pregnant-women-endure-c-sections-without-anesthesia-15823792">needing surgery</a>. The lack of space and overwhelming stress and fear <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/oct/13/gaza-diary-we-survived-another-night-every-inch-of-my-body-aches-lack-of-sleep-is-torture">add sleep</a> to the list of things that are hard to come by.</p>
<p>These needs are urgent and essential. Without them people will die. <a href="https://www.ochaopt.org/content/hostilities-gaza-strip-and-israel-reported-impact-day-32">Too many already have</a>, while the conditions for those who live are horrific. They make it hard to see much else. </p>
<p>But the endless images of bombs and blood <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DaysofPalestine/posts/palestinian-school-girls-in-uniform-take-part-in-a-traditional-dabka-as-musician/2754532801440104/?locale=hi_IN">hide the story of the life</a>, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/gaza-colorful-neighborhood-video_n_55c26079e4b0138b0bf4dc42">color</a> and <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/features/%E2%80%9Cwe-paint-safeguard-our-heritage%E2%80%9D">creativity</a> that existed in Gaza. And they hide the beauty that persists despite war. </p>
<p>Beauty is often viewed as a luxury. But this isn’t the case. It’s the opposite.</p>
<h2>A human impulse</h2>
<p>Beauty has been <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690900800205">a hallmark</a> of <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt28557b">every human civilization</a>. Art philosopher <a href="https://books.google.it/books/about/The_Abuse_of_Beauty.html?id=hUFMv8LxuVUC&redir_esc=y">Arthur Danto</a> wrote that beauty, while optional for art, is not an option for life. Neuroscientists have shown that our brains are biologically <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/12/how-the-human-brain-is-wired-for-beauty/672291/">wired for beauty</a>: The neural mechanisms that influence attention and perception have adapted to notice color, form, proportion and pattern.</p>
<p>We’ve found that refugees worldwide, often with limited or no legal rights, <a href="https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/75786">still invest considerable effort in beautifying</a> their surroundings. Whether they’re staying in shelters or makeshift apartments, they paint walls, hang pictures, add wallpaper and carpet the floors. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392120927755">They transform</a> plain and <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2020.587063">seemingly temporary</a> accommodations into <a href="https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.43234">personalized spaces</a> – into semblances of home. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three people cover a tent with decorative fabric" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560200/original/file-20231117-19-58ix1z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560200/original/file-20231117-19-58ix1z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560200/original/file-20231117-19-58ix1z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560200/original/file-20231117-19-58ix1z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560200/original/file-20231117-19-58ix1z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560200/original/file-20231117-19-58ix1z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560200/original/file-20231117-19-58ix1z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A decorative tarp added to a shelter at the Jeddah camp in Iraq.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://sheltercluster.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/public/docs/GSC-Achievements-Report-2022_0.pdf?VersionId=ZQC_sNMTIhYrmybN1zjKIvMgqHcbYSEp">Sami Abdulla</a></span>
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<p>Refugees <a href="https://doi.org/10.3167/ame.2021.160103">rearrange spaces</a> to share meals, celebrate holidays and host parties – to greet friends, hold <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2020.1798747">dances</a> and say goodbyes. They burn incense, serve tea in decorative porcelain and recite prayers on ornate mats. These simple acts <a href="https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/75786">carry profound significance</a>, even amid challenges.</p>
<p>Urban studies scholars Layla Zibar, Nurhan Abujidi and Bruno de Meulder <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv25wxbvf.7">have told the story of Um Ibrahim</a>, a Syrian refugee. When she was pregnant, she and her husband transformed the tent they were issued at a refugee camp in the Kurdistan region of Iraq into home. They built brick walls. She planned paint colors and furniture. Around her, neighbors potted plants and set up chairs to create front porches on their temporary shelters to be able to gather with friends. They turned roads into places for celebrating special occasions. They painted a flag at the entrance of the camp. </p>
<p>They made a new home, but they also made it feel like it “<a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv25wxbvf.7">used to in Syria</a>.” </p>
<h2>Creating hope in a hopeless place</h2>
<p>The benefits of beauty are both practical and transformative, especially for refugees. </p>
<p>Many refugees <a href="https://doi.org/10.1192%2Fpb.bp.114.047951">experience trauma</a>. All <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/rsq/hdt004">experience loss</a>. Beautifying is a way to exert agency, grieve and heal.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2013.789071">Simple acts</a> – rearranging a home, sweeping the floor or intentionally placing an object – allow refugees to infuse an area with their <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv25wxbvf.9">own identity and taste</a>. They provide a way to cope when one has little control over anything else. Often, once someone is labeled a refugee, all their other identities <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2015.1113633">are overshadowed or disappear</a>. </p>
<p>Devora Neumark’s study of over 200 individuals who experienced forced displacement found that beautifying the home helped <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2013.789071">heal intergenerational trauma</a> caused by forced displacement. </p>
<p>Neumark observed that as children participated in efforts to beautify their home, it seemed to positively influence their own coping mechanisms and well-being.</p>
<p>Furthermore, if children could imagine their homes prior to displacement through the stories and images shared with them – what scholar Marianne Hirsch calls “<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/472334.Family_Frames">postmemories</a>” – then the actions taken to beautify their present-day homes could be transformative. They served as a bridge connecting the past with the present and facilitated the ongoing process of healing and preserving identity. </p>
<p>Ultimately, making a space feel more comfortable, secure and personalized is a tangible expression of hope <a href="https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.40141">for a future</a>. </p>
<h2>Cultivating love and life</h2>
<p>Even prior to the start of the Israel-Hamas war, Palestinians lived in the face of immense injustice and violence. </p>
<p>Our Palestinian research partner, who must remain anonymous for security reasons, described that their home in the refugee camp feels like living in jail, but that they still make it a beautiful place to live. </p>
<p>Prior to the start of the latest war, neighborhoods featured <a href="https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/features/%E2%80%9Cwe-paint-safeguard-our-heritage%E2%80%9D">striking murals</a> and <a href="https://banksyexplained.com/the-segregation-wall-palestine-2005/">embellished walls</a>. <a href="https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2021/02/gaza-mosque-history-islamic-civiliation-mamluk.html">Intricate mosaics</a> adorned buildings, and <a href="https://unicornriot.ninja/2023/colorful-neighborhood-in-gaza-celebrates-ramadan-with-vibrant-colors/">paint livened</a> the facades of homes. Neighbors would gather to pray, putting on new clothes, spraying perfume and burning incense to prepare for the rituals. As Christmas approached, Palestinian Christians, along with some Muslims, would <a href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2221441/middle-east">decorate their homes</a>. Both faiths would gather for <a href="https://www.newarab.com/media/images/gaza-begins-christmas-celebrations">annual tree lightings</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People sit on a colorful carpet on a makeshift table eating prepared food." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560203/original/file-20231117-19-42v59b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560203/original/file-20231117-19-42v59b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560203/original/file-20231117-19-42v59b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560203/original/file-20231117-19-42v59b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560203/original/file-20231117-19-42v59b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560203/original/file-20231117-19-42v59b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560203/original/file-20231117-19-42v59b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Palestinians sit down for a meal of quail meat in a home at a refugee camp in Gaza in November 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/november-2020-palestinian-territories-khan-yunis-news-photo/1229669375?adppopup=true">Mohammed Talatene/Picture Alliance via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Geographer David Marshall described how youth living in a Palestinian refugee camp used beauty to focus on the positives in their environment and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13562576.2013.780713">dream about</a> a future beyond their camp – and the walls that constrained their lives. </p>
<p>In our community-based storytelling project in a Palestinian refugee camp this past summer, we witnessed the commitment to making homes beautiful in the thriving gardens that were created within very crowded quarters. Neighbors shared how their gardens <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-pandemics-gardening-boom-shows-how-gardens-can-cultivate-public-health-181426">calm them</a>, provide a place to gather with friends and serve as a reminder of fields they once tended.</p>
<p>In her 2021 research, Corinne Van Emmerick, a Ph.D. candidate in sociology, described Fatena, a Palestinian who was living in a refugee camp. She had <a href="https://romatrepress.uniroma3.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/15.Aesthetics-from-the-Interstices.pdf">flowers on everything</a> – the roof, walls and windowsills. They were expensive and needed “lots of love.” But, Fatena added, they gave her “love back.”</p>
<h2>A form of resistance and resilience</h2>
<p>One Guinean refugee interviewed as part of Neumark’s study said, “As refugees we <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14036096.2013.789071">lose our sense of beauty</a>, and when that happens, we lose our sense of everything, of life itself.”</p>
<p>If the opposite of this is true, then clearly beauty cannot be thought of as superficial or an afterthought. One study of Bosnian refugees found that their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840490506392">ability to notice beauty</a> was a sign of improved mental health.</p>
<p>Creating, witnessing and experiencing beauty offers a connection to the familiar, works to preserve cultural identity and fosters belonging. </p>
<p>It’s what ensures that a little girl in Gaza not only has her birthday celebrated, but that it is also made as beautiful as possible.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A girl wears a birthday hat and holds three balloons in front of a destroyed building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560541/original/file-20231120-23-8nqyl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/560541/original/file-20231120-23-8nqyl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560541/original/file-20231120-23-8nqyl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560541/original/file-20231120-23-8nqyl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560541/original/file-20231120-23-8nqyl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560541/original/file-20231120-23-8nqyl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/560541/original/file-20231120-23-8nqyl2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Palestinian girl celebrates in front of a house destroyed by Israeli shelling during the 2014 Israel-Hamas war.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/palestinian-girl-during-a-party-amuse-children-in-front-of-news-photo/526077258?adppopup=true">Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p><em>Devora Neumark, an interdisciplinary artist and researcher whose trauma-informed work explores the intersections between a home beautification and the human experience in the context of displacement, contributed to writing this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216982/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephanie Acker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When people find themselves displaced from their homes, finding or creating beauty can be just as vital as food, water and shelter − and serves as a form of resistance and resilience.Stephanie Acker, Visiting Scholar of International Development, Community and Environment, Clark UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2140602023-10-13T18:01:21Z2023-10-13T18:01:21ZWildfire smoke leaves harmful gases in floors and walls − air purifiers aren’t enough, new study shows, but you can clean it up<p>When wildfire smoke turns the air brown and hazy, you might think about heading indoors with the windows closed, running an air purifier or even wearing a mask. These are all good strategies to reduce exposure to the particles in wildfire smoke, but smoky air is also filled with potentially harmful gases. Those gases can get into buildings and remain in the walls and floors for weeks.</p>
<p>Getting rid of these gases isn’t as simple as turning on an air purifier or opening a window on a clear day.</p>
<p>In a new study published in the journal Science Advances, colleagues and I tracked <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh8263">the life of these gases</a> in a home exposed to wildfire smoke. We also found that the best way to get rid of the risk is among the simplest: start cleaning.</p>
<h2>The challenge of smoke particles and gases</h2>
<p>In December 2021, several of my friends and colleagues were affected by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/homes-that-survived-the-marshall-fire-1-year-ago-harbored-another-disaster-inside-heres-what-weve-learned-about-this-insidious-urban-wildfire-risk-196926">Marshall Fire</a> that burned about 1,000 homes in Boulder County, Colorado. The “lucky” ones, whose homes were still standing, asked me what they should do to clean their houses. I am <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XpzGDEUAAAAJ&hl=en">an atmospheric and indoor chemist</a>, so I started looking into the published research, but I found very few studies on what happens after a building is exposed to smoke.</p>
<p>What scientists did know was that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1039/D1EM00087J">smoke particles end up on indoor surfaces</a> – floors, walls, ceilings. We knew that air <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2022.2054674">filters</a> could remove particles from the air. And colleagues and I were just beginning to understand that volatile organic compounds, which are traditionally thought to stay in the air, could actually <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aay8973">stick to surfaces inside a home and build up reservoirs</a> – invisible pools of organic molecules that can contribute to the air chemistry inside the house.</p>
<p>Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, are compounds that easily become gases at room temperature. They include everything from limonene in lemons to benzene in gasoline. VOCs aren’t always hazardous to human health, but <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c04497">many VOCs in smoke are</a>. I started to wonder whether the VOCs in wildfire smoke could also stick to the surfaces of a house.</p>
<h2>Tracking lingering risks in a test house</h2>
<p>I worked with researchers from across the U.S. and Canada to explore this problem during the <a href="https://indoorchem.org/projects/casa/">Chemical Assessment of Surfaces and Air</a>, or CASA, study in 2022. We built on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1039/C9EM00228F">HOMEChem</a>, a previous study in which we looked at how cooking, cleaning and occupancy could change indoor air.</p>
<p>In CASA, we studied what happens when pollutants and chemicals get inside our homes – pesticides, smog and even wood smoke.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VptLTyx0ptk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Tracking VOCs from smoke and other sources.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Using a cocktail smoker and wood chips, we created a surprisingly chemically accurate proxy for wildfire smoke and released small doses into a <a href="https://www.nist.gov/el/net-zero-energy-residential-test-facility">test house</a> built by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. NIST’s house allowed us to conduct controlled chemistry experiments in a real-world setting.</p>
<p>We even aged the smoke in a large bag with ozone to simulate what happens when smoke travels long distances, like the smoke from Canadian wildfires that <a href="https://theconversation.com/wildfire-smoke-and-dirty-air-are-also-climate-change-problems-solutions-for-a-world-on-fire-207676">moved into the U.S.</a> in the summer of 2023. Smoke chemistry changes as it travels: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.9b00125">Particles become more oxidized</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2012218117">brown</a>, while VOCs <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c05684">break down</a> and the smoke loses its distinctive smell.</p>
<h2>How VOCs behave in your home</h2>
<p>What we found in CASA was intriguing. While smoke particles quickly settled on indoor surfaces, <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh8263">VOCs were more insidious</a>.</p>
<p>At first, the house took up these smoke VOCs – on floors, walls and building surfaces. But once the initial smoke cleared, the house would slowly release those VOCs back out over the next hours, days or even months, depending on the type of VOC.</p>
<p>This release is what we call a partitioning process: During the smoke event, individual VOC molecules in the air attach to indoor surfaces with weak chemical bonds. The <a href="https://www.int-ads-soc.org/what-is-adsorption/">process is called adsorption</a>. As smoke clears and the air cleans out, the bonds can break, and molecules “desorb” back out into the air.</p>
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<p>We could watch this partitioning happen in the air by measuring smoke VOC concentrations. On surfaces, we could measure the weight of smoke VOCs that deposited on very sensitive balances and then were slowly released.</p>
<p>Overall, we concluded that this surface reservoir <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh8263">allows smoke VOCs to linger indoors</a>, meaning that people are exposed to them not just during the major smoke event but also long after.</p>
<h2>Why worry about VOCs?</h2>
<p>Smoke VOCs include well-known <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GH000546">carcinogens</a>, and high levels of exposure can induce <a href="https://theconversation.com/wildfire-smoke-can-harm-human-health-even-when-the-fire-is-burning-hundreds-of-miles-away-a-toxicologist-explains-why-206057">respiratory and health problems</a>.</p>
<p>While smoke VOC concentrations in our test house decreased with time, they remained persistently elevated above normal levels.</p>
<p>Given that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c01381">VOC concentrations from other sources</a>, such as cooking and cleaning, can already be high enough in homes to harm health, this additional long-term exposure source from smoke could be important. Further toxicology studies will be needed to determine the significance of its health effects.</p>
<h2>How to clean up when smoke gets in</h2>
<p>So, what can you do to remove these lingering smoke gases?</p>
<p>We found that air purifiers can remove only some of the VOCs that are in the air – they can’t clean the VOCs on your floors or in your walls. They also work only when they’re running, and even then, air purifiers don’t work particularly well to reduce VOCs.</p>
<p>Opening windows to ventilate will clean the air, if it isn’t smoggy or smoky outside. But as soon as we closed windows and doors, smoke VOCs started to bleed off the surface reservoirs and into the air again, resulting in an elevated, near-constant concentration.</p>
<p>We realized that to permanently remove those smoke VOCs, we had to physically remove them from surfaces.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A young scientist, wearing a face mask, and a large air purifier." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550124/original/file-20230925-19-s23qd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/550124/original/file-20230925-19-s23qd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550124/original/file-20230925-19-s23qd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550124/original/file-20230925-19-s23qd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550124/original/file-20230925-19-s23qd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550124/original/file-20230925-19-s23qd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/550124/original/file-20230925-19-s23qd0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A scientist takes samples while running an air purifier in the test house. The results show the air purifier helps while it’s running, but only for gases in the air.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Eisele/Colorado State University</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The good news is that cleaning surfaces by vacuuming, dusting and mopping with a commercial, nonbleach solution did the trick. While some remediation companies may do this surface cleaning for you after extreme exposures, surface cleaning after any smoke event – like <a href="https://theconversation.com/north-americas-summer-of-wildfire-smoke-2023-was-only-the-beginning-210246">Canadian wildfire smoke</a> drifting into homes in 2023 – should effectively and permanently reduced smoke VOC levels indoors.</p>
<p>Of course, we could reach only a certain number of surfaces – it’s hard to vacuum the ceiling! That meant that surface cleaning improved but didn’t eliminate smoke VOC levels in the house. But our study at least provides a path forward for cleaning indoor spaces affected by air pollutants, whether from wildfires, chemical spills or other events. </p>
<p>With wildfires <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/air-pollution-wildfires-expected-surge-world-warms">becoming more frequent</a>, surface cleaning can be an easy, cheap and effective way to improve indoor air quality.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214060/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Delphine Farmer receives funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, W.M. Keck Foundation, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.</span></em></p>Wildfire smoke, even from fires far away, carries potentially harmful gases that, once inside, tend to stick around. An air quality specialist offers an easy, cheap, effective way to deal with it.Delphine Farmer, Professor of Chemistry, Colorado State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2113342023-08-16T04:59:37Z2023-08-16T04:59:37ZEven in a housing crisis, Australians can’t get enough of renovation stories on TV. Why?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542543/original/file-20230814-19-bxxy9p.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1497%2C993&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://9now.nine.com.au/the-block">The Block/Nine</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Block has begun its 19th season this month, <a href="https://9now.nine.com.au/the-block/2023-season-block-confirmed-location-details-scott-cam-season-19-explainer/b4d5fa4e-690f-4755-90da-caba77925836">billed as</a> “a Block that’s entirely relatable to people right around Australia”. This year, contestants renovate five “authentic ’50s dream homes” in “the perfectly named Charming Street, in Melbourne’s Hampton East”. </p>
<p>But if the median price for a four-bedroom house in Hampton East is <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/suburb-profile/hampton-east-vic-3188">around A$1.6 million</a> and the nation’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/aug/03/more-than-1600-australians-pushed-into-homelessness-each-month-as-housing-crisis-deepens-report-finds">housing crisis</a> shows no signs of easing, who is The Block relatable to? And why do audiences keep coming back to renovation stories? </p>
<p>Home ownership is becoming <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/BriefingBook46p/HomeOwnership">less accessible</a> and more people than ever are renting, but stories about renovation on TV, in film and in literature continue to have a powerful effect on us. Why?</p>
<p>One reason they can be so captivating is that they invoke the idea of the dream home. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KadU7z8GHoE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Season 19 of The Block promises to ‘transform these little time capsules into two-storey mansions’.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/building-costs-have-soared-is-it-time-to-abandon-my-home-renovation-plans-188298">Building costs have soared. Is it time to abandon my home renovation plans?</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>Home makeovers are ultimately about us too</h2>
<p>Ask anyone you know about their dream home – something I did regularly when I was <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/122955/">writing my PhD</a> on renovation stories – and you’ll get an incredible array of different styles, sizes, locations. Maybe it overlooks the ocean, maybe it has the newest appliances, maybe it has a pool, maybe it’s just a house without a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/29/this-isnt-safe-nsw-renters-fight-twin-battles-against-mould-and-landlords">mould problem</a>. </p>
<p>The idea of the dream home is deeply rooted in our shared imagination. The philosopher Gaston Bachelard wrote in <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13269.The_Poetics_of_Space">The Poetics of Space</a> (1958) that our houses – both the ones we live in and the ones we dream of – “move in both directions: they are in us as much as we are in them”. Bachelard suggests that in even “the humblest dwelling” our memories, desires and dreams are gathered, and this is why houses are so central to who we are. </p>
<p>If houses can be expressions of self, our dream houses say a lot about our desires. While it might no longer look like a <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/is-the-aussie-dream-of-a-quarter-acre-block-dead-1221913/">house on a quarter-acre block</a>, the dream still exists. Renovation stories are so compelling because in them, as <a href="https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/ordinary-television/book205099#contents">researchers</a> have noted, home improvement often represents self-improvement – a dream life, not just a dream house.</p>
<p>This is especially important in programs like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388595/">Extreme Makeover: Home Edition</a> (2003–20) and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243688/">Backyard Blitz</a> (2000–), which often focus on people presented as hard-done-by whose lives are changed by renovations that solve their day-to-day problems.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/future-home-havens-australians-likely-to-use-more-energy-to-stay-in-and-save-money-199672">Future home havens: Australians likely to use more energy to stay in and save money</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<h2>Better house, better life</h2>
<p>Reality TV isn’t the only place we find this type of story about transformation and self-improvement. In Frances Mayes’ bestselling memoir Under the Tuscan Sun (1996), Mayes travels to Italy and buys an abandoned villa, Bramasole, which she renovates. In the process, she gains a new outlook on life. </p>
<p>There’s a similar story in Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence (1989). Mayle, a UK advertising executive, buys a 200-year-old farmhouse in France and renovates it. </p>
<p>Both books were exceptionally successful, inspiring an entire genre of renovation memoirs about wealthy middle-class people able to travel abroad, buy charmingly rundown properties in beautiful locations, and renovate them while enjoying the local lifestyle. In them, renovation is a clear symbol of self-transformation, if only for people rich enough to afford it: renovating houses leads to a greater appreciation of life’s pleasures and a new way of seeing the world. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-in-lockdown-but-is-moving-to-the-country-right-for-you-148807">It seemed like a good idea in lockdown, but is moving to the country right for you?</a>
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<p>This idea of the renovated life can be especially compelling in a world that increasingly feels <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-doomsday-clock-is-now-at-90-seconds-to-midnight-the-closest-we-have-ever-been-to-global-catastrophe-198457">frightening and overwhelming</a>. Researchers like <a href="https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/4273551">Fiona Allon</a> argue that renovation stories allow us to turn away from the alarming outside world – with its violence, looming recessions, pandemics, climate crises – and focus on the smaller, more controllable world of the home.</p>
<p>Maggie Smith’s viral poem <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/89897/good-bones">Good Bones</a> (2016) plays with this idea. The poem is about a mother trying to convince her children (and herself) that despite being a scary place, the world can be improved. To do this, she uses the analogy of a real estate agent selling a fixer-upper. The poem ends with lines that present renovation as an opportunity for change:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This place could be beautiful,<br>
Right? You could make this place beautiful.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This optimism is what makes renovation excellent fodder for love stories. In the Nancy Meyers rom-com It’s Complicated (2009), Meryl Streep plays a divorcee looking for a fresh start, who renovates her home and falls in love with her architect, Adam. In The Notebook (2004), Ryan Gosling’s Noah transforms an old plantation estate into his lover Allie’s dream home, a gesture that reveals his enduring love. </p>
<p>Renovation stories are always about change (although in <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5109784/">some</a> the change doesn’t last). Even if, as may be the case for the increasing number of people who are renting, having a house of our own is itself a fantasy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542550/original/file-20230814-16-nwyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542550/original/file-20230814-16-nwyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542550/original/file-20230814-16-nwyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542550/original/file-20230814-16-nwyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542550/original/file-20230814-16-nwyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542550/original/file-20230814-16-nwyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542550/original/file-20230814-16-nwyn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In It’s Complicated, a home renovation leads to love between architect Adam (Steve Martin) and client Jane (Meryl Streep).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Universal Pictures</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/off-the-plan-shelter-the-future-and-the-problems-in-between-75839">Off the plan: shelter, the future and the problems in between</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Renovate? In this economy?</h2>
<p>Many renovation stories can be seen as escapist media that trade on the image of the dream home to sell ideas about wealth, taste and style to audiences unable to afford such things. The Block may involve contestants from a range of backgrounds, but few people can afford the multimillion-dollar houses they build. </p>
<p>The Block’s viewership has had ups and downs in its two-decade history, but the show (and many others) continues because, despite being about <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/entertainment/2023/03/29/the-block-controversy-grand-designs/">profiting from the housing market</a>, it sells the idea of transformation and change, not just in our houses but in our lives. </p>
<p>Renovation stories invite audiences to indulge in a fantasy where we become our best selves living in dream homes that protect us from a volatile and threatening world. The dream home might remain a dream, but in renovation stories we escape reality and envision life in a Tuscan villa, or having a butler’s pantry or plunge pool, or simply owning a house of our own.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211334/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ella Jeffery does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How does the average viewer relate to homes being turned into mansions? Well, most of us have a dream home, with home makeovers often also offering the promise of self-improvement.Ella Jeffery, Lecturer in Creative Writing, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2044712023-05-16T16:36:23Z2023-05-16T16:36:23ZWhat an exhibition by artists of the Vietnamese diaspora says about home and belonging<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525179/original/file-20230509-27-wofurb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Multiple works by KV Duong.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joseph Beeching</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Which objects create a feeling of home for you? A particular chair, a table, a teacup from your childhood kitchen? </p>
<p>Visitors to the current exhibition at London’s Museum of the Home are asked to bear this question in mind. Entitled <a href="https://www.museumofthehome.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions-and-installations/no-place-like-home/">No Place Like Home (A Vietnamese Exhibition) Part II</a>, the show brings together eight artists, born and raised all over the world, who share roots in Vietnam.</p>
<p>Many layers of memory can be derived from a single object. For me, a UK-based German-Vietnamese linguist, Vietnamese artist Duong Thuy Nguyen’s pile of rice bowls (entitled <em>Chúng ta là một thể hợp nhất</em> / We Are An Unmistakable Fusion) immediately recalls meals shared with family or friends. For Nguyen herself, however, that plaster crockery stack also evokes the layered high-rise architecture of her native Hanoi.</p>
<p>At the entrance to the show, KV Duong and Hoa Dung Clerget’s installation – entitled The Cityscape – recreates an urban skyline with white plastic chairs. At its highest points, these are stacked seven high, weighted down at their bases with sandwich bags full of dry rice. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A sculpture of a durian fruit painted green." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525186/original/file-20230509-20-9ic4sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525186/original/file-20230509-20-9ic4sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525186/original/file-20230509-20-9ic4sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525186/original/file-20230509-20-9ic4sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525186/original/file-20230509-20-9ic4sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525186/original/file-20230509-20-9ic4sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525186/original/file-20230509-20-9ic4sj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Gift, by Hoa Dung Clerget and Koa Pham.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joseph Beeching</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Plastic chairs, Vietnamese food – even the word “Vietnamese” itself – will, for many visitors, signify expensive holidays, beaches and islands. They will bring up memories of the safe taste of street life from the elected discomfort of a plastic chair, enjoying ice coffee or a bowl of soup to the soundtrack of motorcycle engines.</p>
<p>But for those in the Vietnamese diaspora, these same signifiers can conjure up far more complicated memories. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.21004.ngu">My research</a> into public Vietnamese writing and imagery used by Vietnamese immigrants and their descendants in Manchester speaks to the experience of having to leave one home far away and make a new one elsewhere. </p>
<h2>Hidden histories</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1075/ll.21004.ngu">I have studied</a> Mancunian store signs and menus of establishments run by Vietnamese immigrants, in which Chinese writing can often be found alongside English and Vietnamese. This multilingualism references a hidden layer of meaning to which many customers with no Vietnamese connection will be oblivious. </p>
<p>It is tied to the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2020.1724414">traumatic displacement</a> of the Chinese minority of Vietnam during the <a href="https://research.aston.ac.uk/en/publications/asean-and-the-dynamics-of-resistance-to-sovereignty-violation-the">third Indochina war</a> (between 1978 and 1991) and to the contacts Vietnamese refugees made with Chinese communities in the host countries to which they fled.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Records and loudhailers on a white tabletop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525182/original/file-20230509-19-ruii7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525182/original/file-20230509-19-ruii7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525182/original/file-20230509-19-ruii7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525182/original/file-20230509-19-ruii7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525182/original/file-20230509-19-ruii7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525182/original/file-20230509-19-ruii7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525182/original/file-20230509-19-ruii7k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">(Re)generative Mediations, by Cường Minh Bá Phạm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joseph Beeching</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>No Place Like Home features a series of sculptures by the artist KV Duong, who was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to Chinese-Vietnamese parents and grew up in a mixed neighbourhood of Vietnamese and Chinese families in Canada. He renders these hidden layers of meaning visible by transferring a childhood family photograph, taken when he was six, on to the surface of a moon-shaped vase from the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/25165269?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">Chinese Ming dynasty</a>, the last to rule Vietnam. </p>
<p>Elsewhere, in a bake of clay, concrete, wire and found candles, and painted with acrylic, Duong recalls his first memory of a birthday celebration – a memory set in Canada, the year he turned seven.</p>
<p>Within Asian diasporas, differences can lose their significance when it comes to carving out a place of their own. From the outside, Chineseness and Vietnameseness seem self-evidently separate; different foods, countries and languages. </p>
<p>This separation, however, collapses when you consider the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2020.1744614">complex stories</a> I have encountered in my research. Stories like that of an ethnically Chinese woman who fled Vietnam and opened a Vietnamese restaurant and store in England and whose shop is now managed by a British-born man who speaks Cantonese with his family but who learned Vietnamese through his work. </p>
<p>Things are blurred even further in the case of the barbershop next door, which features English, Vietnamese and Chinese on its storefront, and is run by a Vietnamese refugee who was told by his uncle to learn Cantonese before coming to England and who is now married to a British Chinese woman. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two sculptures on a white tabletop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525180/original/file-20230509-20-51431u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525180/original/file-20230509-20-51431u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525180/original/file-20230509-20-51431u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525180/original/file-20230509-20-51431u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525180/original/file-20230509-20-51431u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525180/original/file-20230509-20-51431u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525180/original/file-20230509-20-51431u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"><em>Chúng ta là một thể hợp nhất</em>/ We Are An Unmistakable Fusion, by Duong Thuy Nguyen (left) and Birthday Cake to My Younger Self (right), by KV Duong.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joseph Beeching</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Diasporic placemaking</h2>
<p>Diasporic <a href="https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/handle/20.500.12413/17493">placemaking</a> is often a story of connection. But it is also a complicated story about who owns public spaces and decides who gets to use them.</p>
<p>At the exhibition opening, the French artist Carô Gervay told me that this was the first time Vietnamese diasporic artists had been given space by a publicly funded institution in the UK. The ambivalence she felt at this is further elaborated on in the work she has made in collaboration with the UK artist Cường Minh Bá Phạm.</p>
<p>Entitled No Place Like Home: a Metastory, this handbound book, printed on recycled paper and packaged in glassine, details the decision-making process that led to the Museum of the Home commissioning this exhibition. </p>
<p>Told through a mixture of text and photography, the story illustrates how those who own public spaces can strategically dole it out to play groups against another – or for the purpose of optics. Those on the margins have to constantly negotiate visibility and navigate the complex terms under which they can achieve it.</p>
<p>As a child growing up in Munich, Germany, the Lunar New Year was the one time in the year when I would be surrounded by people who looked like me and my family, when I would eat food like my mother cooked. </p>
<p>It was the one time in the year I heard the language of my parents and grandparents – in spirited conversations, in late-night karaoke sessions, in children’s voices as they wished adults a prosperous New Year in return for a small red envelope of money, <em>lì xì</em>, decorated with golden Chinese characters.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Concertina book sculptures." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525188/original/file-20230509-21728-cmgako.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/525188/original/file-20230509-21728-cmgako.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525188/original/file-20230509-21728-cmgako.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525188/original/file-20230509-21728-cmgako.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525188/original/file-20230509-21728-cmgako.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525188/original/file-20230509-21728-cmgako.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/525188/original/file-20230509-21728-cmgako.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">(re)Appearing Acts, by Carô Gervay.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Joseph Beeching</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One step outside, though, and I would be back in front of an inconspicuous residential building on a German street, with “Asia-Restaurant” inscribed on a sign above the door. Back then, Vietnamese restaurants were often concealed behind the innocuous word “Asia”, so all-encompassing as to be rendered meaningless. They would be disguised as a “China-Restaurant”, or a Japanese sushi bar. These were places hidden to all except a select few.</p>
<p>For the Vietnamese diaspora, home is composed of such hidden places. A neighbourhood or a street, the inside of a restaurant, a family dinner table; pockets of Vietnameseness in France, Germany, Canada, the US or the UK. </p>
<p>Being part of the diaspora means being able to read a place’s hidden meanings, hidden histories of being on the outside, of journeys and goodbyes. But it also means making new and often unexpected connections with other cultures as well as with others with shared roots from all around the world.</p>
<p>More than any artwork, object or place, to my mind, what creates a sense of home is seeing such talented artists, their friends and family in tow – each with a unique background, each having grown up in their own little pockets of Vietnameseness – all come together in the same room to share their stories.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204471/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anh Khoi Nguyen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Diasporic placemaking is often a story of connections and hidden stories. It is also a complicated story about who owns public spaces and who decides who gets to use it.Anh Khoi Nguyen, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Linguistics, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1957992023-02-02T13:21:40Z2023-02-02T13:21:40ZA journey from work to home is about more than just getting there – the psychological benefits of commuting that remote work doesn’t provide<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507176/original/file-20230130-8935-wa2bhg.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=504%2C0%2C4615%2C3631&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Commuting can create a ‘liminal space.’</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/traffic-jam-from-the-drivers-perspective-royalty-free-image/1285694174?phrase=person%20driving%20traffic%20gridlock">mikroman6/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For most American workers who commute, the trip to and from the office takes nearly one full hour a day – <a href="https://data.census.gov/table?q=Commuting&tid=ACSST1Y2021.S0801">26 minutes each way</a> on average, with 7.7% of workers spending two hours or more on the road.</p>
<p>Many people think of commuting as a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01441640701559484">chore and a waste of time</a>. However, during the remote work surge resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/23/realestate/can-i-actually-be-missing-the-commute.html">several journalists curiously noted</a> that people were – could it be? – <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/07/admit-it-you-miss-your-commute/619007/">missing their commutes</a>. One woman told The Washington Post that even though she was working from home, she regularly <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/dc-commute-coronavirus/2020/12/30/98b5b540-4494-11eb-b0e4-0f182923a025_story.html">sat in her car in the driveway</a> at the end of the workday in an attempt to carve out some personal time and mark the transition from work to nonwork roles. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=kNOgBsYAAAAJ&hl=en">management</a> <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=K04MvpgAAAAJ">scholars</a> who study the interface between peoples’ work and personal lives, we sought to understand what it was that people missed when their commutes suddenly disappeared. </p>
<p>In our recently published conceptual study, we argue that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/20413866221131394">commutes are a source of “liminal space”</a> – a time free of both home and work roles that provides an opportunity to recover from work and mentally switch gears to home. </p>
<p>During the shift to remote work, many people lost this built-in support for these important daily processes. Without the ability to mentally shift gears, <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2000.3363315">people experience role blurring, which can lead to stress</a>. Without mentally disengaging from work, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1924">people can experience burnout</a>.</p>
<p>We believe the loss of this space helps explain why many people missed their commutes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Businesswoman reading a book while traveling on a commuter train" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502170/original/file-20221220-16-vx5m3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C17%2C5751%2C3811&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/502170/original/file-20221220-16-vx5m3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502170/original/file-20221220-16-vx5m3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502170/original/file-20221220-16-vx5m3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502170/original/file-20221220-16-vx5m3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502170/original/file-20221220-16-vx5m3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/502170/original/file-20221220-16-vx5m3p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of the more surprising discoveries during the pandemic has been that many people who switched to remote work actually missed their commutes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/businesswoman-reading-book-in-train-royalty-free-image/540244181?phrase=commuter&adppopup=true">Hinterhaus Productions/Stone via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Commutes and liminal space</h2>
<p>In our study, we wanted to learn whether the commute provides that time and space, and what the effects are when it becomes unavailable. </p>
<p>We reviewed research on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379(199803)19:2%3C147::AID-JOB830%3E3.0.CO;2-Y">commuting</a>, <a href="https://doi-org.proxy.lib.wayne.edu/10.2307/259305">role transitions</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.12.3.204">work recovery</a> to develop a model of a typical American worker’s commute liminal space. We focused our research on two cognitive processes: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019462">psychological detachment from the work role</a> – mentally disengaging from the demands of work – and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1924">psychological recovery from work</a> – rebuilding stores of mental energy used up during work.</p>
<p>Based on our review, we developed a model which shows that the liminal space created in the commute created opportunities for detachment and recovery. </p>
<p>However, we also found that day-to-day variations may affect whether this liminal space is accessible for detachment and recovery. For instance, train commuters must devote attention to selecting their route, monitoring arrivals or departures and ensuring they get off at the right stop, whereas car commuters must devote consistent attention to driving.</p>
<p>We found that, on the one hand, more attention to the act of commuting means less attention that could otherwise be put toward relaxing recovery activities like listening to music and podcasts. On the other hand, longer commutes might give people more time to detach and recover.</p>
<p>In an unpublished <a href="https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2020.17098abstract">follow-up study</a> we conducted ourselves, we examined a week of commutes of 80 university employees to test our conceptual model. The employees completed morning and evening surveys asking about the characteristics of their commutes, whether they “shut off” from work and relaxed during the commute and whether they felt emotionally exhausted when they got home. </p>
<p>Most of the workers in this study reported using the commute’s liminal space to both mentally transition from work to home roles and to start psychologically recovering from the demands of the workday. Our study also confirms that day-to-day variations in commutes predict the ability to do so. </p>
<p>We found that on days with longer-than-average commutes, people reported higher levels of psychological detachment from work and were more relaxed during the commute. However, on days when commutes were more stressful than usual, they reported less psychological detachment from work and less relaxation during the commute.</p>
<h2>Creating liminal space</h2>
<p>Our findings suggest that remote workers may benefit from creating their own form of commute to provide liminal space for recovery and transition – such as a 15-minute walk to mark the beginning and end of the workday. </p>
<p>Our preliminary findings align with related research suggesting that those who have returned to the workplace might benefit from seeking to use their commute to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.2534">relax as much as possible</a>. </p>
<p>To help enhance work detachment and relaxation during the commute, commuters could try to avoid <a href="https://doi.org/10/gg68x9">ruminating about the workday</a> and instead focus on personally fulfilling uses of the commute time, such as listening to music or podcasts, or calling a friend. Other forms of commuting such as public transit or carpooling may also provide opportunities to socialize. </p>
<p>Our data shows that commute stress detracts from detachment and relaxation during the commute more than a shorter or longer commute. So some people may find it worth their time to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010366321778">take the “scenic route” home</a> in order to avoid tense driving situations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195799/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It turns out that there are some benefits to all the time we spend commuting.Matthew Piszczek, Assistant Professor of Management, Wayne State UniversityKristie McAlpine, Assistant Professor of Management, Rutgers UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1957962022-12-18T13:16:49Z2022-12-18T13:16:49ZWhy some people choose to live the nomadic van lifestyle<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500826/original/file-20221213-22773-agowbw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C29%2C3982%2C2634&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">By living a simple life that is fully contained in a vehicle, van dwellers are able to head out on a new adventure whenever they choose.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As the movie <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sxCFZ8_d84"><em>Nomadland</em></a> revealed to the world, ever since the 2008 financial collapse, people have moved into vehicles as a way of surviving the high cost of living. The pandemic also <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7938802/van-life-digital-nomad/">fuelled an increase in the nomadic lifestyle</a>.</p>
<p>In 2020, my co-researcher Scott Rankin and I looked at <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-02-2020-0029">how people who live in vehicles balance work and life</a>. In doing so, we discovered that these people were able to <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-workers-are-opting-to-live-in-their-vans-148961">achieve harmony between work and non-work</a> by coordinating the movement of their van with their work life.</p>
<p>This year, I continued this research to better understand why people live this way. After living in a van and touring the southern United States to meet with people who live in vehicles, I have just completed the preliminary analysis of surveys answering who and why people live this nomadic lifestyle. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-all-nomadland-how-vanlife-made-mobile-living-a-middle-class-aspiration-180876">It's not all nomadland: how #vanlife made mobile living a middle-class aspiration</a>
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<p>These surveys were voluntarily completed by those living in vehicles — most permanently, some seasonally. The findings provide interesting insights not just into who or why people live in vehicles, but also the adventurous nature of those who choose to live this way.</p>
<h2>Who lives in vehicles?</h2>
<p>Everywhere I went in California and Arizona, I saw <a href="https://www.pacificresearch.org/thousands-of-californians-live-out-of-their-cars-now-what/">people living in their vehicles</a>. Sometimes they were hidden in plain sight, parked beside a park in San Francisco or in a neighbourhood in San Diego. Other times, they congregated in huge convoys, in places like <a href="https://cheaprvliving.com/7-reasons-nomads-should-winter-in-quartzsite-and-3-reasons-you-might-not-want-to/">Quartzsite, Ariz.</a></p>
<p>People of all ages and genders take part in van living. My survey found that women were just as likely as men to live in vans. Of the 85 responses to the question of gender, 53 per cent were women and 47 per cent were men. </p>
<p>The average age of van dwellers was 42. In addition to young people living in vehicles, there was an equal proportion of retirees choosing to live in vehicles. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An older adult couple sit on the side of their van and clink their coffee mugs together" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500827/original/file-20221213-22019-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/500827/original/file-20221213-22019-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500827/original/file-20221213-22019-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500827/original/file-20221213-22019-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500827/original/file-20221213-22019-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500827/original/file-20221213-22019-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/500827/original/file-20221213-22019-576dx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People of all ages and genders live the nomadic van lifestyle. For retirees, vehicle living allows them to stretch the value of their limited retirement savings or income.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Why do people live in vans?</h2>
<p>After asking respondents to rank the reasons why they chose to live in a vehicle, ranked from top to bottom are: 1) freedom, 2) low cost of living, 3) adventure, 4) connection to nature, 5) minimalism, 6) avoiding undesirable weather, 7) starting a new life, 8) pursuing work in different places, 9) working remotely, 10) to be on their own, 11) to join a partner or 12) to leave a partner.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A yellow van parked on an escarpment road overlooking a large body of water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499369/original/file-20221206-5419-wbh1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499369/original/file-20221206-5419-wbh1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499369/original/file-20221206-5419-wbh1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499369/original/file-20221206-5419-wbh1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499369/original/file-20221206-5419-wbh1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499369/original/file-20221206-5419-wbh1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499369/original/file-20221206-5419-wbh1kq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A van overlooking the coast in Big Sur, Calif.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Angus Duff)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Above all else, vehicle dwellers sought to be free. Whether they were a retiree in a $100,000 Mercedes van, or <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8964324/canadians-convert-vans-into-homes-to-overcome-9-to-5-grind/">young Canadians working from a $5,000 van</a>, respondents wanted to be able to move their home to wherever was best for them.</p>
<p>For some, vehicle-living provided a way to survive while minimizing the cost of living was the second reason why respondents chose to live in a vehicle. As one respondent said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“As a millennial, the cost of living has significantly increased since previous generations, yet wages have for the most part stayed the same.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>For others, living in a vehicle minimized their costs, allowed them to work less or allowed them to make the most of their income without paying rent. For retirees, vehicle living provided an opportunity for them to stretch the value of their limited retirement savings or income.</p>
<p>The following three reasons — adventure, connection to nature and minimalism — suggest that people who live in vehicles value an adventurous, outdoor lifestyle. Van living allows them to act on this desire and be in nature whenever they want. </p>
<p>By living a simple life that is fully contained in a vehicle — the essence of minimalism — van dwellers are able to head out on a new adventure whenever they choose. Being able to pack up and move somewhere new also connects back to the number one reason many live in vans: freedom.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A parking lot full of vans with palm trees visible in the background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499370/original/file-20221206-21-s7pg7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499370/original/file-20221206-21-s7pg7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499370/original/file-20221206-21-s7pg7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499370/original/file-20221206-21-s7pg7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=270&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499370/original/file-20221206-21-s7pg7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499370/original/file-20221206-21-s7pg7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499370/original/file-20221206-21-s7pg7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A parking lot full of vans in San Diego, Calif.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Angus Duff)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The sixth reason for living in a vehicle was to avoid undesirable weather. Many of the people I spoke to lived a truly nomadic life, living in northern states or Canada for half the year, working off the land in tourism or agriculture, and then moving south in the winter to avoid the cold by living and working in Arizona or Southern California.</p>
<p>Living in a vehicle allowed workers to move with the weather as a way of taking advantage of work opportunities, without the need for winter clothing or shelter. As long as the temperature stayed comfortably above freezing, they were able to sleep comfortably without needing a furnace — just a little extra bedding on cold nights.</p>
<h2>Is this just a fad?</h2>
<p>These preliminary results confirm that, for many, the decision to live in a vehicle is a choice with the goal of being free, self-sufficient and having the ability to live how and where they want. The results also suggest that van living is a lifestyle that is not limited by gender or age, but instead is a viable alternative for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/sep/13/what-i-learned-from-living-five-years-in-a-van">those who seek a more affordable and less constrained</a> living option. </p>
<p>And as it turns out, <a href="https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/housing/being-a-bc-vanlifer-is-more-than-a-tiktok-trend-its-a-lifestyle-4758478">van living is not a fad</a>. While many respondents were new to van living, on average, respondents indicated they had been living in a vehicle, full or part-time, for an average of 2.5 years. </p>
<p>Seventy-eight per cent of respondents permanently lived in a vehicle, while 22 per cent owned or rented a home and periodically travelled in a van or motorhome. From my conversations with van dwellers, most of this latter category were retirees who lived in their residence up north for most of the year, then travelled south to live in their vehicle for the winter months.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://theconversation.com/long-term-renters-evicted-during-housing-boom-face-homelessness-191316">the housing crisis deepens</a>, we may see more people embrace van living as a means of surviving the high cost of living. It will be up to cities and government to accept this alternative living arrangement, and consider having parking and facilities to support those who choose to live this way.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195796/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Angus Duff receives funding from the Bob Gaglardi School of Business and Economics, Thompson Rivers University.</span></em></p>For some people, the decision to live in a vehicle is a choice with the goal of being free and self-sufficient to live how and where they want.Angus J Duff, Associate Professor, Human Resources, Thompson Rivers UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1876642022-08-26T12:18:33Z2022-08-26T12:18:33ZSome refugees stay in temporary status indefinitely – how they still manage to create homes and communities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480646/original/file-20220823-2358-lf0rxb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C0%2C5760%2C3819&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A cafe in Cairo, Egypt, that is predominantly visited by Sudanese migrants, in August 2017.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/man-walks-by-a-sudanese-flag-near-a-cafe-that-predominantly-news-photo/991484150?adppopup=true">Oliver Weiken/picture alliance via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than 6.5 million <a href="https://data.unhcr.org/en/situations/ukraine">Ukrainian war refugees are now scattered across Europe</a> and <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-admits-100000-ukrainians-in-5-months-fulfilling-biden-pledge/">North America</a>, most with temporary emergency residency allowing them to <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/ukraine-measures/key-figures.html">stay in host countries</a> for one to three years. </p>
<p>But roughly half a year into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war looks unlikely to end soon. Ukrainians may be unable to return to their home country for years to come. </p>
<p>They are not alone in their plight.</p>
<p>Refugees from around the world are living with displacement longer than they did three decades ago. Host countries in North America and Europe that traditionally granted refugees permanent resettlement are increasingly offering <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9780429351730-13/end-asylum-jessica-schultz?context=ubx&refId=f3d45994-14d2-47d5-88e4-76b481be9189">temporary status only</a>. At the same time, the displaced population is rising. In 2021, the United Nations estimated <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/uk/globaltrends.html">more than 89 million people worldwide were forced to flee</a> their homes, up from 43 million in 2012.</p>
<p>Today, the average refugee remains in a state of temporary residence <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/06/19/when-refugee-displacement-drags-on-is-self-reliance-the-answer/">for 10 to 26 years</a>, up from about <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/uk/excom/standcom/40c982172/protracted-refugee-situations.html">nine years in 1993</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/issue/view/2299">Our academic research</a> focuses on what refugees and other displaced people do to make homes for themselves even as their lives remain in flux – sometimes for decades on end. </p>
<p>Understanding these practices could help create more pragmatic refugee policies. As <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/2022/aug/18/century-climate-crisis-migration-why-we-need-plan-great-upheaval">migration becomes increasingly more common and more necessary</a>, laws that stand in the way of the universal human need to make a home also prevent societies from learning how to cope with refugee crises.</p>
<h2>Practices of survival and sustenance</h2>
<p>Between 1990 and 2018 we conducted <a href="https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/article/view/40149">wide-ranging research</a> with long-term <a href="https://refuge.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/refuge/article/view/40141">refugees and other displaced people</a> in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America. Our work shows that displaced people find creative ways to settle into life despite refugee policies that keep them in limbo. </p>
<p>From Sudanese refugees living in Egypt to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09502386.2015.1113633">Georgians</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9493.2008.00334.x">Sri Lankans</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.40141">displaced within their own countries</a>, we found that most started making homes quickly. They sent their children to school, cooked meals and scrounged furniture.</p>
<p>These daily practices are essential for “holding things together,” our research participants told us, with many of them explaining that they had to <a href="https://doi.org/10.3167/sa.2015.590102">keep going because of their children</a>. </p>
<p>Most of the refugees also kept their living space clean, whether it was a room in an abandoned hotel, a tent or a shelter. They have shown us that maintaining and modifying one’s living space is essential for a feeling of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-047163-1.00313-1">autonomy, dignity and respect</a>. </p>
<p>These observations are supported by other research on displaced people. In New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina survivors who were residing in FEMA trailers that they were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-008-9124-y">not allowed to personalize</a> showed poor health outcomes and depression after a few years in these conditions.</p>
<p>Those who aren’t refugees can likely relate to these feelings. People try to make home even when they do not feel at home, in ways many people would recognize.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A tall person in a red coat accompanies a smaller person toward a glass building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480643/original/file-20220823-15-korzbp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480643/original/file-20220823-15-korzbp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480643/original/file-20220823-15-korzbp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480643/original/file-20220823-15-korzbp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480643/original/file-20220823-15-korzbp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480643/original/file-20220823-15-korzbp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480643/original/file-20220823-15-korzbp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ukrainians walk toward a refugee shelter set up in an exhibition hall in Dresden, Germany, in March 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/march-2022-lower-saxony-hanover-a-woman-and-a-child-walk-in-news-photo/1239102319?adppopup=true">Julian Stratenschulte/picture alliance via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While daily practices of survival and sustenance are important, refugees need more to create homes in exile. For <a href="https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.40149">one of our studies</a>, co-author Anita Fabos accompanied Sudanese refugees living in exile in Cairo, Egypt, on daily visits to other Sudanese families. </p>
<p>One hot summer afternoon, she went on a 10-hour social tour of the city with a 26-year-old secretary named Khalda after she finished work. They set off on foot to a nearby Sudanese human rights office for a quick visit with Khalda’s activist friends, then took the Metro several stops to board a minibus that took them an hour outside of Cairo to greet a newly arrived Sudanese refugee family over tea and biscuits. Back in her own neighborhood, Khalda paid several more calls to fellow Sudanese. </p>
<p>Khalda’s social rounds were an exhausting daily ritual. But for Sudanese in Egypt, giving and receiving hospitality was a way to rebuild their communal sense of home in a new and insecure place.</p>
<h2>What is home?</h2>
<p>Our work also reveals that “home” means different things to different people. It can be a house, a familiar ritual, a homeland or social relations – or many things at once. </p>
<p>This multifaceted understanding of home was reflected in a young displaced man <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C22&q=Cathrine+Brun&btnG=">co-author Cathrine Brun</a> interviewed in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780080471631003131?via%3Dihub">Sri Lanka in the late 1990s</a>. Home, for him, was the place he had been forced to leave nine years earlier. At the same time, he felt at home in the familiar camp where he lived because he knew everyone around him. When the young man left the camp, he sometimes faced abuse by locals who called him a “refugee.” Only then did he feel homeless. </p>
<p>Listening to refugees and displaced people share their home-making strategies showed us that “home” does not refer just to a person’s country of origin. </p>
<p>Instead, refugees develop what we call “<a href="https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.40138">constellations of home</a>.” They participate in daily life locally while remaining connected to other home places. They nurture relationships, memories and ideals as additional dimensions of their home constellations. </p>
<h2>Policy limbo</h2>
<p>For refugee agencies, however – and often <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/we-all-live-in-some-kind-of-limbo-its-been-six-months-since-russia-invaded-ukraine-and-ukrainian-war-refugees-long-for-home-01661201431">news stories about refugees</a> – “home” generally <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/hux021">refers only to a specific country</a>. </p>
<p>International policy recognizes only three “durable solutions” to refugee displacement. Ideally, conditions in the country of origin improve enough for refugees can return. Alternatively, host countries allow refugees to naturalize and build new lives. If neither is possible, refugees may be sent permanently to a third country. </p>
<p>Refugee status, in other words, is designed to be temporary; it is resolved internationally, either by being taken in or taken back. But as conflicts persist and host countries increasingly resist offering refugees a permanent new home, more people are becoming “permanently temporary” instead.</p>
<p>Our research argues against rigid policies that treat refugees as homeless until they are absorbed back into the international system. By understanding our constellations of home model, refugee agencies and host countries could move past trying to achieve “durable solutions” that are scarce and have the real-world effect of keeping people in limbo.</p>
<p>Take Egypt’s approach to <a href="https://www.berghahnbooks.com/title/FabosBrothers/loc">Sudanese refugees in the early 1990s</a>. </p>
<p>Sudanese in Cairo rented their own apartments, sent their children to local schools and set up self-help organizations largely on their own. They were free to move across the city, visiting one another and creating a homey feeling of life “back in Sudan.” </p>
<p>Because neither Egypt nor the U.N. imposed temporary conditions on their exile, they could recreate livelihoods even while dispersed: Many left to find work in wealthy Arab Gulf countries, sending money to family members still in Cairo and returning to visit. </p>
<p>Egypt was not Sudan. But Sudanese refugees in Cairo managed to create constellations of home while on the move because they had the freedoms and rights necessary to do so. </p>
<p>A refugee policy that incorporates the constellations of home model is more than a <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/uk/the-global-compact-on-refugees.html">self-reliance strategy</a>. It can work only when all dimensions of the constellation – from daily practices of survival to feelings of community membership and the ability to plan for the future – are fulfilled.</p>
<p>As the war in Ukraine rages on, both host societies and refugees themselves would benefit by moving beyond the politics of limbo and toward recognizing that home is more than just a country.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187664/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anita H. Fábos receives funding from the National Science Foundation. Research presented in this article was funded by the Social Science Research Council, the Population Council, the Mellon Foundation, and Clark University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cathrine Brun receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (UK), the Research Council of Norway, The International Development Research Centre (Canada) and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. In addition to her affiliation with the Lebanese American University, she is a professor (part-time) at the Centre for Development and Emergency Practice, Oxford Brookes University, and a visiting scholar at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge. </span></em></p>It’s not just Ukrainians. In 2021, nearly 90 million people were forced to flee their homes.Anita H. Fábos, Professor of International Development, Community, and Environment, Clark UniversityCathrine Brun, Deputy Director for Research, Centre for Lebanese Studies at Lebanese American UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1868062022-08-24T16:32:39Z2022-08-24T16:32:39ZThe pandemic changed what it means to have a ‘good death’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480116/original/file-20220819-2895-2z5zso.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C7%2C5145%2C3437&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The fear of not having a “good death,” by dying at home among family members, has become a very real concern — especially during the pandemic.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Anton Darius/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When considering what a “good death” is, most people in North America would likely say something along the lines of living to at least 75, and painlessly passing away at home in their sleep would constitute <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/10/why-i-hope-to-die-at-75/379329/">a good life and, most importantly, a good death</a>. One of the key features of the “good death” narrative is being at home.</p>
<p>So, what do we mean by home and how important is the idea or feeling of “being at home” to a good death? </p>
<p>Home is <a href="https://thecorrespondent.com/427/why-the-meaning-of-home-has-changed-now-that-we-cant-leave-the-house">more than just a structure</a>. It is textures, smells, sounds and atmosphere. It is a sticky table that brings you back to your first day of school when you held your brother’s hand as you both walked to the bus or a smell that reminds you of the first time you baked cookies with your grandmother and danced around the kitchen singing along to Cher. </p>
<p>Home is nothing, but everything, especially at the end of life.</p>
<p>Death used to be treated as a public event, but as our society has become more <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3631614">individualistic</a>, it has shifted to being a matter best dealt with in private <a href="https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1fj84sj">by ritual specialists</a> — like an embalmer or funeral director — and close family members. </p>
<p>As the home is thought of as being the most intimate private space we inhabit, it should not be surprising that most people wish to seek <a href="http://www.hpcintegration.ca/media/51032/The%20Way%20Forward%20-%20What%20Canadians%20Say%20-%20Survey%20Report%20Final%20Dec%202013.pdf">“home” in the dying process</a>. To die outside of home is seen to be a failure — a bad death.</p>
<p>The pandemic changed the lives of many people. Isolated from friends and family, away from home, many people didn’t have access to a “good death” — especially those in care homes. So its important to reflect back on this idea of a “good death” and how we understand what home and family mean.</p>
<h2>No longer an ‘uncomplicated’ death</h2>
<p>Since the 1920s and ‘30s the government has increased its control over <a href="http://www.cindea.ca/home-funerals.html#history">funerals and end-of-life treatments</a>. This became an even greater concern in the 1950s and '60s, when advancements in medical care meant that people who would have previously had an <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/648663">“uncomplicated”</a> death now found themselves entangled in, and dependant on medicine.</p>
<p>With an aging population and medical advancements, the reality is that as people age, they are likely to find themselves being put in the role of “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1136%2Fbmj.39244.650926.47">patient</a>,” where their death will be <a href="https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/where-people-die-2018103115278">medically mediated</a>. </p>
<p>This means that even if they are able to be at home, their health is being medically determined, with the end result being that the amount of control they have over their own lives and final care has become complicated. </p>
<p>The ideal narrative of living to 75 and passing away at home quietly and painlessly while asleep is becoming increasingly difficult to realize. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A person stands behind square windows, wearing scrubs, wiping down a desk" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479483/original/file-20220816-10961-s6r1xw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479483/original/file-20220816-10961-s6r1xw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479483/original/file-20220816-10961-s6r1xw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479483/original/file-20220816-10961-s6r1xw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479483/original/file-20220816-10961-s6r1xw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479483/original/file-20220816-10961-s6r1xw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479483/original/file-20220816-10961-s6r1xw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A worker is seen cleaning surfaces inside a long term care home in Vancouver.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>No longer at home</h2>
<p>The fear of not having a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287324532_Beyond_the_good_death_The_anthropology_of_modern_dying">“good death,”</a> by dying at home among family members, has become a very real concern — especially during the pandemic. </p>
<p>Before COVID-19, people who lived in places like care homes would still be invited to gatherings or enjoy the occasional visit from a loved one. Their <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK464649/">social death</a> was isolating, but not devastating. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/non-profit-long-term-care-homes-have-lost-too-many-residents-to-covid-19-161060">Non-profit long-term care homes have lost too many residents to COVID-19</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>During peak restrictions, senior living and care facilities were locked down. This resulted in family members feeling helpless and those living in care facilities feeling hopeless. </p>
<p>The shutdowns, intended to keep them safe, caused many to long for a home that wasn’t restricted — some even opted to <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/facing-another-retirement-home-lockdown-90-year-old-chooses-medically-assisted-death-1.5197140">choose medically assisted death in the face of additional lockdowns</a>.</p>
<h2>An evolving 'good death’</h2>
<p>In the Netherlands, home is thought of as not just being a physical space, but is seen as <a href="https://cap-press.com/books/isbn/9781594605185/The-Maintenance-of-Life">a state of being in the family</a>. </p>
<p>Isolated from their families during the pandemic, many individuals found themselves no longer being <em>in</em> the family. The social death they were experiencing was felt to be far more painful than any fear or concern they had about their own biological death. </p>
<p>As we reflect on what life means to us in this post-pandemic shuffle, we need to also contemplate what a “good death” is. For some, that may mean opting for quality of life and control over how, when, with whom and where it ends through end-of-life programs like <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/medical-assistance-dying.html">MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying)</a>. </p>
<p>The pandemic will forever change how people understand what home and family means, what their role within the family and home is, and how to be in the family and <a href="https://palliative.stanford.edu/home-hospice-home-care-of-the-dying-patient/where-do-americans-die/">in the home, in whatever form that may be, for their passing</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/186806/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charisma Anne Thomson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As we reflect on what life means to us in this post-pandemic shuffle, we need to also contemplate what a “good death” is.Charisma Anne Thomson, Lecturer, Anthropology, University of ReginaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1821292022-06-15T03:16:47Z2022-06-15T03:16:47ZWhat did COVID do to my feet? How to fit back into shoes after wearing ugg boots at home and piling on the kilos<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/460506/original/file-20220429-24-7onmgt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C0%2C995%2C667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/men-shoes-fashion-wedding-231404761">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve been spending a lot of time at home in ugg boots, not doing so much exercise and stacking on the coronakilos over the past two years or so, you may have noticed something strange going on with your feet.</p>
<p>They may not fit back into leather shoes. Or if you do manage to squeeze them in, your shoes feel really stiff and look set to give you blisters.</p>
<p>What’s going on? Have your feet expanded? Is this permanent? Do you need to buy new shoes?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-toe-jam-from-harmless-gunk-to-a-feast-for-bugs-177454">What is toe jam? From harmless gunk to a feast for bugs</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Can your feet really widen?</h2>
<p>Our feet are flexible structures and adapt over time to our footwear – or lack of shoes. </p>
<p>That’s what happened during COVID lockdowns and long periods of being at home, when many people swapped regular shoes for comfortable options such as thongs, slides and ugg boots. Our feet responded by spreading out and becoming wider.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Row of ugg boots in different colours" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465418/original/file-20220526-19-exrty3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Still wearing ugg boots?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/warm-fuzzy-sheepskin-australian-boots-many-257592871">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That wasn’t a big surprise for podiatrists like us, health professionals who specialise in looking after people’s feet.</p>
<p>We’ve long known that people who walk barefoot – or wear wide shoes that give the foot plenty of room to spread out – have a <a href="https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1757-1146-6-28">much wider</a>
front of the foot (forefoot) than people who wear narrow shoes.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bones of the feet, showing metatarsals" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/466528/original/file-20220601-48874-mecx69.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Your metatarsals (in red) have freedom to align normally when you go barefoot or wear ugg boots.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/metatarsal-bones-metatarsus-group-five-long-2135243299">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That’s because the lack of pressure from shoes allows the five, long <a href="https://www.kenhub.com/en/library/anatomy/metatarsal-bones">metatarsal bones</a> in each of your feet to align normally; each metatarsal head (end of the metatarsal bone) takes the load as you walk. </p>
<p>Once your forefoot becomes wider, it stays like this unless you force it <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5342900/">to adapt</a> by wearing narrow shoes.</p>
<p>How much wider a foot becomes, if given the space, depends on how elastic your ligaments are. Some people are “<a href="https://www.hypermobilityconnect.com/">hypermobile</a>” and have very “loose” joints because their ligaments are more stretchy. </p>
<p>Some people have described this as “<a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Flintstone%20feet">Flintstone feet</a>” or “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-05/are-feet-copping-it-while-working-from-home-in-slippers/12314970">ugg boot foot</a>”.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1382659198983548930"}"></div></p>
<h2>What else is going on?</h2>
<p>Being less physically active and leading a more sedentary lifestyle while at home for long periods may have also led to weaker core muscles. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3806175/">Core muscles</a> are the ones around our buttocks, hips, abdomen and lower back. They are particularly important in controlling the position and function of our legs and feet.</p>
<p>If you lose core fitness, your legs can rotate internally (your knees face each other), causing your feet to roll in (or pronate).</p>
<p>As this happens, your feet can become <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwX4_G6JZ_0">flatter</a>, changing their shape to become longer and wider.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/core-strength-why-is-it-important-and-how-do-you-maintain-it-160358">Core strength: why is it important and how do you maintain it?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How about the coronakilos?</h2>
<p>Many of us have also put on coronakilos (also known as COVID kilos or quarantine kilos) during the pandemic. In fact, one in three Australians <a href="https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/one-in-three-australians-have-gained-weight-during">gained weight</a> during this time.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1517789108134813697"}"></div></p>
<p>An increase in body weight creates more force on the feet. If your feet have a normal or low arch, your feet will become flatter (will pronate more), creating <a href="https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13047-017-0214-5">increased pressure</a>, particularly under the mid-foot. </p>
<p>So if you put on weight, your feet can become longer and wider.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-kilos-why-now-is-the-best-time-to-shed-them-171933">COVID kilos: why now is the best time to shed them</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Why won’t my work shoes or boots fit?</h2>
<p>We’ve seen how, over time, our feet adapt to our shoes (or lack of shoes). But shoes can also adapt to our feet. This depends on what the shoes are made of.</p>
<p>Leather shoes are flexible and gradually mould to the shape of your feet. That’s because they absorb sweat from our feet and soften. But when we take a break from wearing them, the leather gradually dries and they harden.</p>
<p>So if you haven’t worn leather shoes or boots for a while, you need to “wear them in” again to soften them and avoid blisters.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1423550410942468098"}"></div></p>
<p>If you’ve been storing your shoes in a hot, dry environment, the leather will also gradually dry out and your shoes will feel much tighter when you next wear them.</p>
<p>Shoes made from <a href="https://www.comunitymade.com/blogs/posts/what-are-the-best-materials-for-shoes">synthetic materials and textiles</a> or <a href="https://www.peta.org/living/personal-care-fashion/what-is-vegan-leather/">vegan leather</a> made from polyurethane, recycled plastic, cactus or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/dec/02/californian-firm-touts-mushroom-leather-as-sustainability-gamechanger">mushrooms</a> tend to keep their shape, even when you don’t wearing them for some time. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/vegan-leather-made-from-mushrooms-could-mould-the-future-of-sustainable-fashion-143988">Vegan leather made from mushrooms could mould the future of sustainable fashion</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Any tips for my feet?</h2>
<p>Getting back into your work shoes might take a bit of time, particularly if your feet have changed shape during the past two years. </p>
<p>It’s unlikely you’ll need new shoes unless they are damaged from drying out, you have put on a significant amount of weight, or your shoes were very narrow or a size too small pre-pandemic.</p>
<p>Here are some suggestions to build foot strength and ensure your shoes don’t damage your feet:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>make time to exercise your feet and ankles. You can try this <a href="https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/recovery/foot-and-ankle-conditioning-program/">conditioning program</a> or watch these <a href="https://freedompah.com.au/foot-strengthening">videos</a> of foot strengthening exercises </p></li>
<li><p>focus on your core strength to improve your posture when sitting, standing and walking. Here’s a ten-minute <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q-crQuxME0">workout</a> for beginners</p></li>
<li><p>visit a shoe store to measure your feet accurately. Some <a href="https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13047-018-0284-z">63-72%</a> of the population are wearing shoes the wrong length or width</p></li>
<li><p>invest in a pair of good quality shoes, runners or work boots and look after them well, rather than buying lots of cheap footwear that <a href="https://www.podiatry.org.au/foot-health-resources/incorrectly-fitted-shoes/incorrectly-fitted-shoes">might cause</a> foot deformity and a lifetime of <a href="https://jfootankleres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13047-018-0284-z">pain</a>.</p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182129/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caroline Robinson is affiliated with the Australasian Council of Podiatry Deans and the Australian Podiatry Association.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Baker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>No, you’re not imagining it. Your feet may be wider or longer and your shoes stiffer.Caroline Robinson, Associate Professor Podiatry, Charles Sturt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1758012022-02-20T15:56:34Z2022-02-20T15:56:34ZFamily Day imagery neglects family caregivers’ care work; it needs to be valued<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447148/original/file-20220217-17-167py27.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C0%2C7465%2C5220&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We need to recognize, respect and support the integral role of family caregivers in society. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Family Day often evokes images of families enjoying the outdoors together, playing board games or sharing a meal. But these images neglect the hidden care that nearly <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2020001/article/00007-eng.htm">eight million caregivers</a> across Canada provide. </p>
<p>One in four <a href="https://rapp.ualberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/49/2022/02/Family-caregiving-worth-97-billion_2022-02-20.pdf">Canadians aged 15+</a> provide care to family, friends and neighbours with chronic health problems, physical or mental disabilities or functional limitations.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://vanierinstitute.ca/research-recap-beyond-snapshots-to-lifetimes-of-family-care/">ongoing nature of this care work</a> comes with both rewards and penalties. Caring for family and friends helps people give back, feel close and can give people a sense of competence and purpose. At the same time, many caregivers have to deal with <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1097%2F01.NAJ.0000336406.45248.4c">their own poor health</a>, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1939-0025.2011.01129.x">strained social connections</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1332/239788220X15845551975572">out-of-pocket expenses</a>. </p>
<p>These negative outcomes threaten the sustainability of caregivers’ care work and affects their well-being. Family caregiving is often ignored because it is unpaid, undervalued, hidden in the privacy of homes and care facilities and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1332/239788220X15845551975572">done primarily by women</a>.</p>
<p>As a family economist, and a family caregiving researcher, (and family caregivers ourselves) we know this work isn’t free. Whether it’s personal care, housekeeping, managing appointments and services, or even home-based kidney dialysis, there’s nothing “free” about a family caregiver’s care work. And the COVID-19 pandemic has <a href="https://labblog.uofmhealth.org/rounds/pandemic-took-a-toll-on-older-people-serving-as-caregivers-for-loved-ones">made that even more obvious</a>. </p>
<p>Outbreaks in long-term care, work-from home mandates, job losses and shortages of formal home care services have <a href="https://theconversation.com/older-caregivers-struggling-with-extra-burdens-of-home-care-during-covid-19-152373">complicated and intensified</a> family caregivers’ responsibilities, isolation and stress. </p>
<p>The pandemic has also <a href="https://assets.website-files.com/60105a5edd88603ee79d7bda/617c251f800f6be728139ebb_Caregiver%20Survey%20Oct%2025%202021.pdf">increased caregivers’ financial burden</a> and reduced their <a href="https://theconversation.com/older-caregivers-struggling-with-extra-burdens-of-home-care-during-covid-19-152373">ability to get much-needed outside support</a>. </p>
<p>Despite this care crisis, family caregivers have carried on as best they can. Their collective efforts — <a href="https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=4502&dis=1">5.7 billion hours of family care work annually</a> — help sustain the public <a href="https://www.cihi.ca/en/continuing-care">continuing care systems</a> that are increasingly dependent on them and reduce the burden on taxpayers.</p>
<h2>$97.1 billion to replace families’ care work</h2>
<p>Using data from <a href="https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=4502&dis=1">Statistics Canada’s most recent (2018) national survey on caregiving and care receiving </a>, we found that families play a central role in meeting Canadians’ care needs.</p>
<p>Unpaid family caregivers in Canada spent an extraordinary 5.7 billion hours annually supporting others. It would take 2.8 million full-time paid care workers to do this work instead. Multiply that by the <a href="https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/wagereport/occupation/20667">national median hourly wage of $17</a> for home support workers and <a href="https://rapp.ualberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/49/2022/02/Family-caregiving-worth-97-billion_2022-02-20.pdf">you get a staggering $97.1 billion</a> as the estimated cost to replace Canadian families’ care work. </p>
<p>To fully understand the magnitude of caregivers’ contributions to Canadian society, consider that $97.1 billion represents 32.2 per cent of <a href="https://www.cihi.ca/sites/default/files/document/health-expenditure-data-in-brief-en.pdf">national expenditures on formal health care</a>, and more than three times the national expenditures on continuing care services like home, community and long-term care. </p>
<p>Without the ongoing commitment and labour of family caregivers, the Canadian continuing care sector would collapse. </p>
<p>This $97.1 billion value also represents 4.2 per cent of <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3610043402&pickMembers%5B0%5D=2.1&pickMembers%5B1%5D=3.2&cubeTimeFrame.startMonth=09&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2021&referencePeriods=20210901%2C20210901">gross domestic product (GDP)</a>. That’s double the contributions of industries such as agriculture, utilities and hospitality, and 67 per cent of the contribution of the health-care and social services sectors combined. </p>
<p>Policymakers rely on GDP as a universal measure of a country’s social and economic performance and standard of living that guides their policy decisions. Yet, because GDP omits the value of unpaid care work, it is an incomplete measure leading to flawed public policy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man excitedly pushes an elderly person in a wheelchair" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447137/original/file-20220217-15-1b6uxxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447137/original/file-20220217-15-1b6uxxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447137/original/file-20220217-15-1b6uxxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447137/original/file-20220217-15-1b6uxxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447137/original/file-20220217-15-1b6uxxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447137/original/file-20220217-15-1b6uxxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447137/original/file-20220217-15-1b6uxxe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Caring for family and friends helps people give back, feel close and can give people a sense of competence and purpose.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Key component of the care economy</h2>
<p>Many social injustices arise from the invisibility and devaluation of families’ care work. Caregivers who are women, have lower incomes, and are in their peak earning years contribute more than their share. </p>
<p>Bringing family care into debates about the overall economy and accounting for caregivers’ contributions is sparking conversations about recognizing the care economy as a key component and growth engine for Canadian society. We define the care economy as paid and unpaid care work that supports people who are care-dependent because of their chronic health conditions or disabilities, or because of their young age. </p>
<p>Documenting the enormous volume and monetary value of family members’ care work establishes it as an indispensable social and economic activity. Yet it is often left out of the public policy agenda.</p>
<p>It’s time to complete the picture and recognize public expenditures on supports for family caregivers as social investments in the well-being of individuals, families and communities. It’s time for a <a href="https://www.carerscanada.ca/advocacy-action/">National Caregiver Strategy</a> and a Canada that recognizes, respects and supports the integral role of family caregivers in society. </p>
<p><em>Our study on the value of unpaid family care work is a collaborative project of Janet Fast, Jacquie Eales, Norah Keating and Choong Kim from the University of Alberta and Karen Duncan from the University of Manitoba.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175801/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janet Fast receives funding from AGE-WELL National Centres of Excellence and from Caregivers Alberta. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacquie Eales receives funding from AGE-WELL NCE, Canada's technology and aging network. She co-creates knowledge with community stakeholders including Caregivers Alberta, Carers Canada, Alberta Seniors and Housing, CanAge and the Vanier Institute of the Family. She volunteers on GEF Seniors Housing Board of Directors and Age-Friendly Edmonton Leadership Table.</span></em></p>It’s time to complete the picture and recognize public expenditures on supports for family caregivers as social investments in the well-being of individuals, families and communitiesJanet Fast, Professor and Co-Director, Research on Aging, Policies and Practice, University of AlbertaJacquie Eales, Research Manager, Research on Aging Policies and Practice, University of AlbertaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1758892022-02-18T11:35:19Z2022-02-18T11:35:19ZHow your colleagues affect your home life (and vice versa)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447061/original/file-20220217-23-1x0ppe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>There are benefits to being part of a couple in which both are in paid work. A dual income brings, if not necessarily great wealth, at least an element of greater economic freedom, while the relationship can be a source of love and support. </p>
<p>But such couples also face <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0000857">particular challenges</a> related to their domestic set up and achieving a good work-life balance. There may be greater tension over who does what at home, whether that’s household chores or childcare, and whose career takes priority when it comes to progression, development and time. </p>
<p>Such conflicts might seem to be part of the familiar distinction between home life and work life. But our <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-15372-001">new research</a> suggests the two are more closely linked than we might think.</p>
<p>For example, we found that someone who benefits from a positive working environment with supportive colleagues, is likely to pass on those benefits to their partner at home. In the other direction, a loving relationship at home is likely to translate into greater dedication and creativity in the work place. </p>
<p>Put more simply, if you’re happy at work, you’ll be happier at home, which in turn will make you better at your job.</p>
<p>We discovered this by studying the everyday experiences of 260 dual income heterosexual couples in the US over a period of six weeks, to understand how their home lives and work lives affected each other. The main goal of <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-15372-001">our research</a> was to discover where people looked for support, and whether or not they found it. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Focp0000036">Previous studies</a> had suggested that someone seeking to address conflicts between their work and home lives (such as asking for more flexible hours) would typically go to a manager or supervisor for help.</p>
<p>But our work revealed the importance of immediate colleagues in resolving such issues by providing vital support and advice. Indeed co-workers at a similar professional level can be seen almost as “work-spouses” for emotionally challenging times. </p>
<p>They are the starting point of what we call a “gain spiral”, in which the benefits of a supportive relationship with colleagues then transfers to an employee’s home life, where they are subsequently shared with a partner. </p>
<h2>Taking your work home with you</h2>
<p>Essentially this means that employees take the support they receive from co-workers home with them, and in a loving relationship, transfer this support to their partners. This might mean they encourage them to open up about stresses, seek to resolve issues, or make improvements to how they juggle work and family life arrangements.</p>
<p>That support in a loving relationship causes partners to feel happier, more satisfied, and more positive about their own work, where they subsequently become more engaged and productive. Our research highlights the role of these two key relational “resources”: valued colleagues and loving partners. The two appear to be clearly linked and vital elements of a healthy work-life balance. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A pair of connecting cogs, one labelled 'work' and the other 'life'." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447067/original/file-20220217-27-f5rrpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/447067/original/file-20220217-27-f5rrpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447067/original/file-20220217-27-f5rrpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447067/original/file-20220217-27-f5rrpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447067/original/file-20220217-27-f5rrpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447067/original/file-20220217-27-f5rrpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/447067/original/file-20220217-27-f5rrpy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Closely connected.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/macro-photo-tooth-wheel-mechanism-work-515842876">Shutterstock/EtiAmmos</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So perhaps it might be time to re-evaluate your relationship with your colleagues. Rather than seeing them simply as people who share your workspace, think of them as people who have a significant impact on your home life too. (And you on theirs.) This is true whether you share a tightly spaced office or engage with them mostly online. </p>
<p>And while we don’t think employers should meddle with their employee’s personal lives, they may be able to contribute to the quality of relationships at home by putting policies and procedures in place to minimise work-family conflict. This may include limiting excessive working hours and reducing expectations of responding to messages outside of work. They should also be aware that if colleagues get on well, everyone benefits – at work and at home.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175889/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Getting on well with your work mates will improve your domestic partnership.Yasin Rofcanin, Reader and Associate Professor of Organisational Behaviour & Human Resource Management, University of BathJakob Stollberger, Associate Professor of Organisational Behavior, Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamMireia Las Heras, Professor of Managing People in Organisations, IESE Business School (Universidad de Navarra) Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1663312021-08-25T04:06:44Z2021-08-25T04:06:44ZAt home with your dog? 3 ways to connect and lift your spirits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/417725/original/file-20210825-26-wgaq5b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C1%2C995%2C664&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/people-pet-together-1677424648">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It may come as no surprise to dog owners in lockdown, but walking the dog can be the highlight of the day.</p>
<p>With exercise being one of the few reasons for leaving the house for millions of Australians, walking the dog clearly <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/1/240">benefits both dog owners</a> and their furry friends.</p>
<p>But walking the dog isn’t the only thing you can do to lift your spirits and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0020764020944195">ease loneliness</a>. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/7/2104">study</a> found three things you can do at home with your dog to make you feel better, which your dog will probably love too.</p>
<h2>1. You can meditate with your dog</h2>
<p>Our study showed it helped to take time out to focus on your dog’s fur or the warmth of their body using “<a href="https://theconversation.com/mindfulness-meditation-in-brief-daily-doses-can-reduce-negative-mental-health-impact-of-covid-19-165163">mindfulness meditation</a>”.</p>
<p>This type of meditation involved people listening to a recording that guided them to activate their senses (for instance, touch) as a way of enhance their engagement with the task.</p>
<p>Dog owners who did this for seven minutes once a week or more felt relaxed, calm, enjoyed the process, said they felt more connected to their dog, and helped them focus on the present.</p>
<p>For many dog owners in our study, these effects also lasted for several minutes or hours after stopping the activity.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/mindfulness-meditation-in-brief-daily-doses-can-reduce-negative-mental-health-impact-of-covid-19-165163">Mindfulness meditation in brief daily doses can reduce negative mental health impact of COVID-19</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>If you want to try this for yourself, create a space in your home where you are not likely to be interrupted and turn off your phone. Sit comfortably on the floor, on a mat, cushion or blanket and invite your dog to come and sit next to you or on your lap. </p>
<p>Place one or two hands on your dog and sit up tall. Start by closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths. Be aware of your sense of touch and notice the sensations in your hand and fingertips. Stay with this awareness and if your mind starts to wander, gently escort it back to your feeling of touch and your dog’s fur. Stay with this practice for seven minutes or more. </p>
<p>Although we didn’t specifically measure the impact on dogs, we suspect they appreciate the close, calm and private space this creates for both of you.</p>
<h2>2. You can play hide and seek</h2>
<p>If mindfulness meditation isn’t your thing, our study showed setting aside seven minutes of undivided playtime with your dog had similar results. This might be an interactive game, such as hide and seek. </p>
<p>Dog owners who did this said they enjoyed this, had a better connection with their dog, and helped them focus on the present. They also thought their dog had fun.</p>
<p>How might this work as well as mindfulness meditation? <a href="https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1093%2Fclipsy.bpg016">Mindfulness</a> is simply about being present in the moment. So if we put the phone away, pets can be great facilitators to help bring us into the present and centre our mind on one thing — them.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/routine-and-learning-games-how-to-make-sure-your-dog-doesnt-get-canine-cabin-fever-134248">Routine and learning games: how to make sure your dog doesn't get canine cabin fever</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>3. You can talk to your dog</h2>
<p>If you really want to increase the connection with your dog, try some
calm and focused interactions. This might be seven undivided minutes of affection with your dog, such as giving them a good belly rub, or spending seven undivided minutes talking to them.</p>
<p>Out of all the activities we tried, these worked best to connect with your dog. </p>
<p>While some people in our study said they felt awkward talking to their dog, our earlier research showed others seem to love it.</p>
<p>For people living alone in lockdown, having a pet dog was an <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0020764020944195">excuse to talk out loud</a>, and this may play an important role in their well-being.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1429541174788780033"}"></div></p>
<p>Making time to be affectionate towards your dog also made owners feel relaxed and calm, at similar levels to those who practised mindfulness meditation.</p>
<p>Completely focusing on your dog this way increases the release of molecules associated with relaxation (such as oxytocin) and reward (such as dopamine) in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S109002330200237X">both owner and dog</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lockdown-can-be-stressful-for-pets-too-heres-how-to-keep-your-dog-entertained-135156">Lockdown can be stressful for pets too – here's how to keep your dog entertained</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Making time for your dog</h2>
<p>Not all dog owners are spending their time in lockdown going on long walks with their furry friends. One study found <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159121001829#aep-article-footnote-id2">some dog owners</a> walked their dog less often or went on shorter walks during the pandemic.</p>
<p>Whether that’s been your experience, or if you want to try something new, these three types of interactions with your dog don’t take a lot of time. You could even continue them after lockdown’s over.</p>
<p>This might end up become the new highlight of your dog’s day, making the long wait for you to return home from work completely worth it. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/your-dogs-nose-knows-no-bounds-and-neither-does-its-love-for-you-148484">Your dog's nose knows no bounds – and neither does its love for you</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/166331/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Oliva does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Talking to your dog really helps. Here’s what else you can do.Jessica Oliva, Lecturer, Psychology, James Cook UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1616742021-06-13T20:06:43Z2021-06-13T20:06:43ZIs it worth selling my house if I’m going into aged care?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405528/original/file-20210610-39379-d3pfs8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C998%2C661&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-real-estate-sign-board-text-1779607850">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For senior Australians who cannot live independently at home, residential aged care can provide accommodation, personal care and general health care.</p>
<p>People usually think this is expensive. And many assume they need to sell their home to pay for a lump-sum deposit.</p>
<p>But that’s not necessarily the case. Here’s what you need to consider.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/so-youre-thinking-of-going-into-a-nursing-home-heres-what-youll-have-to-pay-for-114295">So you're thinking of going into a nursing home? Here's what you'll have to pay for</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>You may get some financial support</h2>
<p>Fees for residential aged care are complex and can be confusing. Some are for your daily care, some are means-tested, some are for your accommodation and some pay for extras, such as cable TV.</p>
<p>But it’s easier to think of these fees as falling into two categories:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>an “entry deposit”, which is usually more than <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2020/06/eighth-report-on-the-funding-and-financing-of-the-aged-care-industry-july-2020-eighth-report-on-the-funding-and-financing-of-the-aged-care-industry-may-2020.pdf">$A300,000</a>, and is refunded when you leave aged care </p></li>
<li><p>daily “<a href="https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/aged-care-home-costs-and-fees">ongoing fees</a>”, which are $52.71-$300 a day, or more. These cover the basic daily fee, which everyone pays, and the means-tested care fee.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>To find out how much government support you’ll receive for both these categories, you will have a “<a href="https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/income-and-means-assessments/#aged-care-home">means test</a>” to assess your income and assets. This means test is similar (but different) to the means test for the aged pension.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, the lower your aged-care means test amount, the more government support you’ll receive for aged care.</p>
<p>With full support, you don’t need to pay an “entry deposit”. But you still need to pay the basic daily fee (currently, <a href="https://www.myagedcare.gov.au/aged-care-home-costs-and-fees">$52.71</a> a day), equivalent to 85% of your aged pension. If you get partial support, you pay less for your “entry deposit” and ongoing fees.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-check-if-your-mum-or-dads-nursing-home-is-up-to-scratch-123449">How to check if your mum or dad's nursing home is up to scratch</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>You don’t need a lump sum</h2>
<p>You don’t have to pay for your “entry deposit” as a lump sum. You can choose to pay a rental-style daily cost instead.</p>
<p>This is calculated as follows: you multiply the amount of the required “entry deposit” by the maximum permissible interest rate. This rate is set by government and is currently at <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2021/03/schedule-of-fees-and-charges-for-residential-and-home-care-schedule-from-20-march-2021_0.pdf">4.01%</a> per year for new residents. Then you divide that sum by 365 to give a daily rate. This option is like borrowing money to pay for your “entry deposit” via an interest-only loan.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"626991737660010501"}"></div></p>
<p>You can also pay for your “entry deposit” with a combination of a lump sum and a daily rental cost.</p>
<p>As it’s not compulsory to pay a lump sum for your “entry deposit”, you have different options for dealing with your family home.</p>
<h2>Option 1: keep your house and rent it out</h2>
<p>This allows you to use the rental-style daily cost to finance your “entry deposit”. </p>
<p><strong>Pros</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>you could have more income from rent. This can help pay for the rental-style daily cost and “ongoing fees” of aged care</p></li>
<li><p>you might have a special sentimental attachment to your family house. So keeping it might be a less confronting option</p></li>
<li><p>keeping an expensive family house will not heavily impact your residential aged care cost. That’s because any value of your family house above <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2021/03/schedule-of-fees-and-charges-for-residential-and-home-care-schedule-from-20-march-2021_0.pdf">$173,075.20</a> will be excluded from your <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/organisations/health-professionals/services/aged-care-entry-requirements-providers/residential-care/residential-aged-care-means-assessment">means test</a></p></li>
<li><p>you can still access the capital gains of your house, as house prices rise.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405552/original/file-20210610-15-3u26en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Lease sign on front fence of house" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405552/original/file-20210610-15-3u26en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/405552/original/file-20210610-15-3u26en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405552/original/file-20210610-15-3u26en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405552/original/file-20210610-15-3u26en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405552/original/file-20210610-15-3u26en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405552/original/file-20210610-15-3u26en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/405552/original/file-20210610-15-3u26en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Renting out your house can be an option.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sign-lease-front-old-residential-house-1492504154">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
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</figure>
<p><strong>Cons</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>your rental income needs to be included in the means test for your aged pension. So you might get less aged pension</p></li>
<li><p>you might need to pay income tax on the rental income</p></li>
<li><p>compared to the lump sum payment, choosing the rental-style daily cost means you will end up <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/money/super-and-retirement/seek-help-when-weighing-up-how-to-pay-for-your-aged-care-20191202-p53g16.html">paying more</a> </p></li>
<li><p>you are subject to a changing rental market.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/home-owning-older-australians-should-pay-more-for-residential-aged-care-131565">Home-owning older Australians should pay more for residential aged care</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Option 2: keep your house and rent it out, with a twist</h2>
<p>If you have some savings, you can use a combination of a lump sum and daily rental cost to pay for your “entry deposit”. </p>
<p><strong>Pros</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>like option 1, you can keep your house and have a steady income</p></li>
<li><p>the amount of lump sum deposit will not be counted as an asset in the pension means test.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Cons</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>like option 1, you could have less pension income, higher age-care costs and need to pay more income tax</p></li>
<li><p>you have less liquid assets (assets you could quickly sell or access), which could be handy in an emergency.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Option 3: sell your house</h2>
<p>If you sell your house, you can use all or part of the proceeds to pay for your “entry deposit”.</p>
<p><strong>Pros</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><p>if you have any money left over after selling your house and paying for your “entry deposit”, you can invest the rest</p></li>
<li><p>as your “entry deposit” is exempt from your aged pension means test, it means more pension income.</p></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Cons</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>if you have money left over after selling your house, this will be included in the aged-care means test. So you can end up with less financial support for aged care.</li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-adds-value-to-your-house-how-to-decide-between-renovating-and-selling-140627">What adds value to your house? How to decide between renovating and selling</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>In a nutshell</h2>
<p>Keeping your house and renting it out (option 1 or 2) can give you a better income stream, which you can use to cover other living costs. And if you’re not concerned about having access to liquid assets in an emergency, option 2 can be better for you than option 1.</p>
<p>But selling your house (option 3) avoids you being exposed to a changing rental market, particularly if the economy is going into recession. It also gives you more capital, and you don’t need to pay a rental-style daily cost.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article is general in nature, and should not be considered financial advice. For advice tailored to your individual situation and your personal finances, please see a qualified financial planner.</em></p>
<p><em>Correction: this article previously stated the amount of lump sum deposit will not be counted as an asset in the aged-care means test, as a pro of option 2. In fact, the amount of lump sum deposit will not be counted as an asset in the pension means test.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/161674/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colin Zhang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>You may not need to sell the family home before entering aged care. There are other options.Colin Zhang, Lecturer, Department of Actuarial Studies and Business Analytics, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1579422021-04-14T14:20:21Z2021-04-14T14:20:21ZRenovating your home could ruin your relationship … but it doesn’t have to<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394576/original/file-20210412-15-2jwabb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4918%2C3038&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">As we head into spring and summer, the most popular seasons for home improvement, it's important for couples to set ground rules before breaking ground.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/covid-home-renovations-1.5856136">Canadians have turned to home renovations</a> to find space — both literally and metaphorically — after a year of working, learning, exercising and doing just about everything else from home. As we head into spring and summer, the most popular seasons for home improvement, it’s important for couples to set ground rules before breaking ground.</p>
<p>While more living space, a dedicated home office or upgraded kitchen might ease the strain the pandemic has put on homes and families, the renovation process, which <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/life-after-50/201811/renovation-and-couples-conflict">tests relationships at the best of times</a>, could put more stress on partnerships already cracking under the weight of the past year.</p>
<p>Contractors and architects say the recent surge in renovation work has them fielding up to five times as many calls per day than they were pre-pandemic. And according to a recent <a href="https://abacusdata.ca/home-renovations-covid-19/">Abacus Data survey</a>, 44 per cent of Canadian households have done or are planning to do renovations this year. Most say they are doing the work so they can feel more relaxed in their homes.</p>
<p>At the same time, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/couples-counselling-covid19-1.5557110">phones are also ringing at couples counselling and family law offices</a> as more seek professional help to either preserve or dissolve their relationships.</p>
<p>“Couples are experiencing a whole variety of stresses — childcare, household management, personal challenges, strains in the relationship — and the temperature has gone up during the pandemic,” says <a href="https://tribecatherapy.com">New York City therapist Matt Lundquist</a>. He believes that while the stresses of the pandemic may not be the cause of marriage problems, they are revealing cracks that were already there. </p>
<h2>Relationship cracks on full display</h2>
<p>Renovations can widen relationship cracks as couples find themselves navigating financial stresses, extended disruptions and making thousands of decisions — from how much they can afford to spend to lower a basement to selecting drawer pulls for new kitchen cabinets. </p>
<p>The process can amplify conflicting approaches to <a href="https://doi.org/10.9790/1684-1305064448">decision-making, unhealthy communication habits and latent tensions in relationships</a>.</p>
<p>These strains are on display on <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/relationship_advice/">Reddit’s r/relationship_advice</a> where desperate users seek advice for resolving renovation conflicts with their partners.</p>
<p>From “I’m an <a href="https://www.16personalities.com/intp-personality">INTP</a>, he’s an <a href="https://www.16personalities.com/entj-personality">ENTJ</a>, we’re renovating and fighting so badly I fear our relationship will never recover” to “renovation taking way longer than expected, BF taking it personally when I try to speed the process along. We’re at a breaking point” and “renovation frustration with me (29f) and him (31m) — is this understandable or abuse?”</p>
<p>Gloria Apostolu, principal architect at <a href="https://www.postarchitecture.com/">Post Architecture</a> in Toronto, pauses for a moment when asked how couples handle the demands of making so many decisions during a renovation. “Every client has their Achilles heel,” she says. “And it’s never where or what I expected.” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Before and after of a home renovation." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394578/original/file-20210412-15-e54mhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394578/original/file-20210412-15-e54mhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394578/original/file-20210412-15-e54mhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394578/original/file-20210412-15-e54mhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394578/original/file-20210412-15-e54mhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394578/original/file-20210412-15-e54mhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394578/original/file-20210412-15-e54mhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Home renovations are on the rise during the pandemic, but so are their repercussions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Different breaking points</h2>
<p>Some of Apostolu’s clients can’t make sense of tiles. Others balk at the price of a front door or are overwhelmed by having to settle on a faucet type for the main-floor powder room all before the contractor even arrives to tear the place apart. </p>
<p>Making high-stakes decisions as a couple, Lundquist explains, requires advanced skills, such as weighing pros and cons, gauging the level of acceptable risk and being decisive under pressure, or “pulling the trigger” in contractor parlance. It also requires what he calls relationality — listening and curiosity, taking turns, empathy and working to understand your partner’s point of view, even if you don’t see its logic or agree with it.</p>
<p>“It tremendously taxes our skills not to react when our partner says something we disagree with, or isn’t what we expected,” says Lundquist. What really feeds a relationship, he adds, is trying to be curious about where your partner is coming from and resisting the temptation to shut them down or make a counter-argument before fully understanding their point of view.</p>
<p>On the other hand, he often encounters partners who, in trying to keep the peace, are <a href="https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/mental-health/let-go-resentment">not assertive enough about what they want, which can lead to lingering dissatisfaction and resentment</a>. </p>
<p>The last thing a relationship needs, Lundquist jokes, is a big, expensive, fixed piece of resentment that a couple is forced to stare at as they sit next to each other on the couch every evening. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Family of three doing a renovation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394579/original/file-20210412-19-1wijd6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/394579/original/file-20210412-19-1wijd6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394579/original/file-20210412-19-1wijd6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394579/original/file-20210412-19-1wijd6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394579/original/file-20210412-19-1wijd6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394579/original/file-20210412-19-1wijd6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/394579/original/file-20210412-19-1wijd6o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Devising a system for resolving conflicts before you even start is the best approach to a conflict-free renovation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Honesty and a smooth renovation</h2>
<p>Apostolou echoes the need for openness as a foundation for a smooth renovation. </p>
<p>She suggests devising a system at the start for resolving the inevitable conflicts that will arise. This could mean taking turns, or giving veto rights to the person who is most dedicated to that part of the home. For example, the person who does most of the cooking gets the final say on kitchen details. </p>
<p>She advises it is most important to work it all out in drawings before you get started. “Don’t rush the design process. You don’t want to be making decisions that are more costly than they would have been if they were planned out in advance.” </p>
<p>Apostolu’s no-surprises approach has garnered <a href="https://www.houzz.com/professionals/architects-and-building-designers/post-architecture-inc-pfvwus-pf%7E847407266">effusive five-star reviews</a> from clients on home design and improvement website Houzz.</p>
<p>One is from Stephanie Nickson, a financial services consultant, and her partner David Raniga, who now runs his massage therapy practice in the light-filled basement of their recently renovated home in Toronto’s Wychwood neighbourhood. </p>
<p>Raniga jokes that the hardest part of the process was dealing with his wife’s inability to make decisions. But because they remained open to each other’s needs throughout the process and stuck with the vision and budget they set at the beginning, they say they actually miss the process now that it is over. And they are almost giddy with the result. </p>
<p>“I literally say I love this house every day. We were so lucky,” Nickson says.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157942/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Waugh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>An architect and a therapist share tips for improving your home without sacrificing your relationship.Emily Waugh, Dalla Lana Fellow, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1567272021-03-15T12:56:16Z2021-03-15T12:56:16ZFixing indoor air pollution problems that are raising Native Americans’ COVID-19 risk<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388929/original/file-20210310-14-1meav2z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C4%2C3014%2C1928&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Older homes can have a variety of environmental health risks.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kerry F. Thompson and Ryan T. Wilson</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Betty’s home stands on the edge of a striking red cliff. Her family built the home from materials in their environment generations ago and passed it along from mothers to daughters. But it is cold, and the home is small with few windows. Insufficiently ventilated homes in these areas can have high levels of particulate matter, dust, mold and <a href="http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17082813">radon</a>, a naturally occurring gas that can cause lung cancer.</p>
<p>Rosa, a great-grandmother, lives in her family home with a large wood-burning stove. On one wall are colorful paintings representing her clan lineage. On another wall, black stains show where an exhaust vent was improperly installed.</p>
<p>Both women live in homes full of meaning and tradition in the Southwest, a region that is home to 574 <a href="https://www.bia.gov/tribal-leaders-directory">recognized tribes</a>. And both face a serious health risk: poor indoor air. </p>
<p>Poor indoor air quality has been linked to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/indoor-air-quality">health hazards</a> for decades and is an <a href="https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/basic-information-about-indoor-air-quality-tribal-partners-program">ongoing problem</a> in American Indian communities.
Fine particulate matter and inhalation of other pollutants contributes to high risk for <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/flu/resource-center/freeresources/graphics/aian.htm">influenza</a>, for example. </p>
<p>Research <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abd4049">in the U.S.</a> and <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114465">other countries</a> now suggests that long-term exposure to air pollution can worsen the chances of having serious complications from COVID-19. Indeed, American Indian and Alaska Natives face hospitalizations and death from COVID-19 at higher rates <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/covid-data/hospitalization-death-by-race-ethnicity.pdf%20jan%2015,%202021">than any other racial or ethnic group</a>. </p>
<p>Tribes have been taking measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, including enacting stronger prevention measures and rolling out vaccinations more effectively than many states, yet fixing the underlying problems that put people at high risk remains challenging. In response, Native communities are exploring clean energy options and working on improving solutions that weave together meaningful home design and safer, cleaner air. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman and her uncle in a home with a stove for heating." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389111/original/file-20210311-16-1qklo48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389111/original/file-20210311-16-1qklo48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389111/original/file-20210311-16-1qklo48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389111/original/file-20210311-16-1qklo48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389111/original/file-20210311-16-1qklo48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389111/original/file-20210311-16-1qklo48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389111/original/file-20210311-16-1qklo48.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A stove for heating stands in the center of a hooghan, a traditional home, in Arizona.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/VIrusOutbreakAWeekPhotoGallery/76043bb3567e440fbec5139ef8c4e05a/photo">AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a <a href="https://nau.edu/anthropology/lisahardy/">medical anthropologist</a>, <a href="https://nau.edu/anthropology/kerrythompson/">archaeologist</a> and <a href="https://www.usd.edu/faculty-and-staff/Meghan-OConnell%22%22">family medicine doctor and public health professional</a>, we are concerned about the past, present and future of clean air and the reduction of environmental pollution. Indoor air pollution is part of larger issue of health and safety in Native communities. </p>
<p>Understanding the structural barriers to good health can help explain why COVID-19 affects tribes more severely. And these risks won’t leave with the pandemic.</p>
<h2>The problem of indoor air pollution</h2>
<p>A view from the sky would appear to show clean air in rural areas where many Native people live. But a closer look reveals a different story: environmental pollution inside homes, schools and other buildings.</p>
<p>The reasons for poor indoor air on tribal lands are vast and complex. In many ways, the burden of dispossession endures.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman carries wood logs toward a rural home" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389112/original/file-20210311-22-fdgi4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389112/original/file-20210311-22-fdgi4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389112/original/file-20210311-22-fdgi4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389112/original/file-20210311-22-fdgi4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389112/original/file-20210311-22-fdgi4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389112/original/file-20210311-22-fdgi4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389112/original/file-20210311-22-fdgi4p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Navajo woman carries wood to heat her rural mobile home in freezing temperatures during the coronavirus pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/navajo-woman-carries-wood-to-heat-her-rural-mobile-home-news-photo/1208679747">Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In parts of the Southwest, many people rely on coal and <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.1111/jcpe.12808">wood-burning stoves</a> that have been linked to <a href="http://doi.org/10.1155/2010/260525">respiratory disease</a>. Electric heat isn’t an option in the thousands of homes that <a href="https://www.publicpower.org/LightUpNavajo">aren’t connected to a power grid</a>. </p>
<p>Homes in some rural areas are at high risk for developing mold or having <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17082813">radon</a>, <a href="http://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2017.1334717">carbon monoxide</a> and other environmental contaminants. Radon and mold remediation is costly, and repairs and maintenance can be difficult when it’s hard to find licensed contractors. Long distances to hardware stores can make it challenging to obtain supplies and maintain repairs. </p>
<p>In homes without stoves or electricity, the only option may be propane, which can release a host of pollutants into the air when used for heating or cooking.</p>
<p>Leaving behind ancestral homes is a bad solution to the problem. In the past, people were encouraged to <a href="http://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.120-a460">leave homes for trailers</a> funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Bureau of Indian Affairs up until the 1970s. However, these homes are poorly suited for long-term living. The trailers have thin walls and poor ventilation, making them hot in summer and cold in winter, and low-quality materials don’t stand up well to freezing temperatures and storms. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A storm-battered coastal home" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389114/original/file-20210311-20-1fdfuwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389114/original/file-20210311-20-1fdfuwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389114/original/file-20210311-20-1fdfuwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389114/original/file-20210311-20-1fdfuwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389114/original/file-20210311-20-1fdfuwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389114/original/file-20210311-20-1fdfuwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389114/original/file-20210311-20-1fdfuwm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Homes in Quinhagak, Alaska, near the Bering Sea, are at the mercy of the weather. Older homes can be compromised by water leaks, rot and mold.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/house-sits-on-melting-permafrost-tundra-caused-by-rising-news-photo/1139519564">Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Inequities in funding for tribal lands continue to create differences in health and life. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/asthma/contacts/default.htm">National Asthma Control Program</a> aims to improve care and decrease health disparities caused by asthma, which often has environmental triggers. However, the program provides funding to only 25 states and no tribes. Many American Indian communities don’t have access to programs because they’re not located in funded states, and state programs are not implemented by tribes. After tribes <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/tribes-fight-for-cdc-inclusion">fought for inclusion</a>, the CDC provided <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/tribal/cooperative-agreements/covid-19.html">funding</a> for COVID-19 “preparedness and relief,” though this shift was hard-won. </p>
<h2>What’s being done?</h2>
<p>Solutions to problems of environmental pollution may be most successful when they are designed and led by Native people who know the local tradition and meaning of homes and the relationships and practices of people who live there. Native-led <a href="http://navajoandhopifamiliescovid-19r.godaddysites.com/">COVID-19 relief efforts</a> have met many tribal needs, and the same may be true of long-term housing solutions. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A home under construction" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388924/original/file-20210310-14-1oizxkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/388924/original/file-20210310-14-1oizxkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388924/original/file-20210310-14-1oizxkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388924/original/file-20210310-14-1oizxkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388924/original/file-20210310-14-1oizxkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388924/original/file-20210310-14-1oizxkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/388924/original/file-20210310-14-1oizxkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1340&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New construction can combine tradition and design for safer homes. This hooghan in Arizona will have a wood stove that is correctly sized and installed, with a properly ventilated roof.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kerry F. Thompson and Ryan T. Wilson</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>National and local programs funded through the Environmental Protection Agency support tribal initiatives in air pollution <a href="https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/tribal-indoor-air-quality-programs-spotlight">prevention and mitigation</a>. Local initiatives also build knowledge and skills. For example, the <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/news/features/2020/from-lab-to-tundra-building-more-efficient-future-with-rural-alaska.html">Cold Climate Housing Research Center</a> at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has worked with Native Alaskans to design and build healthy, energy-efficient <a href="http://cchrc.org/cchrc-prototype-design/">prototype homes</a> that meet each community’s unique environment and needs, then shared the construction plans online. </p>
<p>Red Feather Development group, a nonprofit organization led by a Native American board, hosts workshops with a professional stove designer to train people to <a href="https://www.redfeather.org/healthy-home-energy-safety-improvements.html">maintain stoves</a> and helps families swap out poorly functioning stoves for cleaner and more energy-efficient options. The group also teaches people how to weatherize homes and helps improve homes for elders. </p>
<p>The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals has a network of professionals and students working to stay up to date on <a href="http://www7.nau.edu/itep/main/iaq/">clean air research and strategies</a> throughout the U.S. This helps American Indian college students gain knowledge and skills to become future leaders in environmental health. These organizations are developing plans to reduce disparities related to environmental health while honoring the strength and structure of tribal nations and the people who live there.</p>
<p>The promise of solar power and other clean energy also brings hope for reducing air pollution in homes. The Native-led organization <a href="https://www.nativerenewables.org/who-we-are">Native Renewables</a> trains and educates people living on the Navajo and Hopi reservations about solar power and other clean energy options and installs clean energy systems on a small scale. <a href="https://gridalternatives.org/what-we-do/tribal-program">Grid Alternatives</a> provides workforce development, education and financing for solar power and other renewable energy for tribes.</p>
<p>The pandemic could soon begin to subside as the vaccine rollout gains momentum, but health disparities will remain. We believe that larger national programs implemented and led by Native people in tribal communities are crucial for saving lives and traditions and ensuring clean air for everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156727/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Hardy has consulted in the past for Red Feather Development group with foundation funding however she is not affiliated at this time. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Meghan Curry O’Connell receives funding from CDC Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kerry F. Thompson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Poor indoor air on tribal lands can cause a range of respiratory illnesses, including viral infections. Here’s how people are fixing the problem while preserving traditional ways.Lisa J Hardy, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Social Science Community Engagement Lab, Northern Arizona UniversityKerry F. Thompson, Associate Professor of Anthropology & Department Chair, Northern Arizona UniversityMeghan Curry O’Connell, Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of South DakotaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1543362021-03-03T13:22:44Z2021-03-03T13:22:44ZHow some people can end up living at airports for months – even years – at a time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387323/original/file-20210302-19-vutsn3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=298%2C272%2C2937%2C2056&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mehran Karimi Nasseri sits among his belongings in a 2004 photograph taken at Charles de Gaulle Airport, where he lived for nearly 18 years.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sir-alfred-mehran-59-years-old-originally-from-iran-has-news-photo/627630152?adppopup=true">Eric Fougere/VIP Images/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In January 2021, local authorities arrested a 36-year-old man named Aditya Singh <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/man-living-o-hare-3-001000925.html">after he had spent three months living at Chicago’s O'Hare International Airport</a>. Since October, he had been staying in the secure side of the airport, relying on the kindness of strangers to buy him food, sleeping in the terminals and using the many bathroom facilities. It wasn’t until an airport employee asked to see his ID that the jig was up.</p>
<p>Singh, however, is far from the first to pull off an extended stay. <a href="https://udayton.edu/directory/artssciences/history/bednarek_janet.php">After more than two decades studying the history of airports</a>, I’ve come across stories about individuals who have managed to take up residence in terminals for weeks, months and sometimes years. </p>
<p>Interestingly, though, not all of those who find themselves living in an airport do so of their own accord. This group includes Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who famously lived in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport for 18 years and inspired the movie “The Terminal.” <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/11/12/1136307777/the-terminal-movie-merhan-karimi-nasseri-dies-paris-airport">Nasseri died</a> on November 12, 2022. </p>
<h2>Blending in with the crowd</h2>
<p>Whether it’s in video games like “<a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/airport-city/9wzdncrfjchj?activetab=pivot:overviewtab">Airport City</a>” or scholarship on topics like “<a href="https://airporturbanism.com/">airport urbanism</a>,” I’ll often see the trope that airports are like “mini cities.” I can see how this idea germinates: Airports, after all, have <a href="https://theconversation.com/as-you-travel-pause-and-take-a-look-at-airport-chapels-87578">places of worship</a>, policing, hotels, fine dining, shopping and mass transit.</p>
<p>But if airports are cities, they’re rather strange ones, in that those running the “cities” prefer that no one actually takes up residence there.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, it is possible to live in airports because they do offer many of the basic amenities needed for survival: food, water, bathrooms and shelter. And while airport operations do not necessarily run 24/7, airport terminals often open very early in the morning and stay open until very late at night. </p>
<p>Many of the facilities are so large that those determined to stay – such as the man at O'Hare – can find ways to avoid detection for quite some time.</p>
<p>One of the ways would-be airport residents avoid detection is to simply blend in with the crowds. Before the pandemic, U.S. airports handled 1.5 million to 2.5 million passengers <a href="https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus/passenger-throughput">on any given day</a>. </p>
<p>Once the pandemic hit, the numbers dropped dramatically, falling below 100,000 during the early weeks of the crisis in the spring of 2020. Notably, the man who lived at O'Hare for a little over three months arrived in mid-October 2020 as passenger numbers <a href="https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus/passenger-throughput">were experiencing a rebound</a>. He was discovered and apprehended only in late January 2021 – right when passenger numbers dropped considerably after the <a href="https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus/passenger-throughput">holiday travel peaks</a> and during <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54966531">the resurgence of the coronavirus</a>. </p>
<h2>Living in limbo</h2>
<p>Not all of those who find themselves sleeping in a terminal necessarily want to be there.</p>
<p>Travel by air enough and chances are that, at one time or another, you’ll find yourself in the category of involuntary short-term airport resident. </p>
<p>While some people may book flights that will require them to stay overnight at the airport, others find themselves stranded at airports because of missed connections, canceled flights or bad weather. These circumstances seldom result in more than a day or two’s residency at an airport.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man sleeps on chairs in an airport." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387324/original/file-20210302-19-gvnqvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387324/original/file-20210302-19-gvnqvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387324/original/file-20210302-19-gvnqvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387324/original/file-20210302-19-gvnqvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=387&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387324/original/file-20210302-19-gvnqvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387324/original/file-20210302-19-gvnqvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387324/original/file-20210302-19-gvnqvr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It might not be the most comfortable bed, but at least it’s indoors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/mit-seinen-habseligkeiten-hat-sich-ein-obdachloser-mann-am-news-photo/1041081206?adppopup=true">Boris Roessler/picture alliance via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then there are those who unwittingly find themselves in an extended, indefinite stay. Perhaps the most famous involuntary long-term resident was <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/merhan-nasseri-charles-de-gaulle-stuck">Mehran Karimi Nasseri</a>, the airport dweller whose story inspired “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0362227/">The Terminal</a>.”</p>
<p>Nasseri, an Iranian refugee, was en route to England via Belgium and France in 1988 when he lost the papers that verified his refugee status. Without his papers, he could not board his plane for England. Nor was he permitted to leave the Paris airport and enter France. He soon became an international hot potato as his case bounced back and forth among officials in England, France and Belgium. At one point French authorities offered to allow him to reside in France, but Nasseri turned down the offer, reportedly because he wanted to get to his original destination, England. And so he stayed at Charles de Gaulle Airport for nearly 18 years. He left only in 2006, <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0621/p11s02-almo.html">when his declining health required hospitalization</a>. Prior to his death in November 2022, he had returned to the airport on his own accord, and was staying in Terminal 2F when he suffered the heart attack that killed him. </p>
<p>Other long-term airport residents include Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker, who spent <a href="https://www.theregister.com/2016/09/12/edward_snowden_wikileaks_sarah_harrison/">more than a month in a Russian airport in 2013</a> before receiving asylum. And then there is <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4673103.stm">the saga of Sanjay Shah</a>. Shah had traveled to England in May 2004 on a British overseas citizen passport. Immigration officials, however, refused him entry when it was clear he intended to immigrate to England, not merely stay there the few months his type of passport allowed. Sent back to Kenya, Shah feared leaving the airport, as he had already surrendered his Kenyan citizenship. He was finally able to leave after an airport residency of just over a year when British officials granted him full citizenship.</p>
<p>More recently, the coronavirus pandemic has created new long-term involuntary airport residents. For example, an Estonian named Roman Trofimov arrived at Manila International Airport on a flight from Bangkok on March 20, 2020. By the time of his arrival, Philippine authorities had ceased issuing entry visas to limit the spread of COVID-19. Trofimov spent over 100 days in the Manila airport until personnel at the Estonian embassy <a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/travel-stories/man-trapped-in-manila-airport-for-100-days-amid-coronavirus-pandemic/news-story/09bfee03d3d1f23ca28f1fd97fa99109">were finally able to get him a seat on a repatriation flight</a>.</p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklysmart">You can get our highlights each weekend</a>.]</p>
<h2>The homeless find refuge</h2>
<p>While most involuntary airport residents long to leave their temporary home, there are some who have voluntarily attempted to make an airport their long-term abode. Major airports in both the United States and Europe have long functioned – though largely informally – as homeless shelters.</p>
<p>Though homelessness and the homeless have a long history in the United States, many analysts see the 1980s as an important turning point in that history, as many factors, including federal budget cuts, the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill and gentrification, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519584/">led to a sharp rise in the number of homeless</a>. It is in that decade that you can find the earliest stories about the homeless living at U.S. airports.</p>
<p>In 1986, for example, <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-12-12-8604020917-story.html">the Chicago Tribune wrote about Fred Dilsner</a>, a 44-year-old former accountant who had been living at O'Hare in Chicago for a year. The article indicated that homeless individuals had first started showing up at the airport in 1984, following the completion of the Chicago Transit Authority train link, which provided easy and cheap access. The newspaper reported that 30 to 50 people were living at the airport, but that officials expected the number could climb to 200 as the winter weather set in. </p>
<p>This issue has persisted into the 21st century. News stories from 2018 reported a rise in the number of homeless at several large U.S. airports over the previous few years, including at <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/todayinthesky/2018/02/12/atlantas-homeless-fill-atrium-worlds-busiest-airport-overnight/328388002/">Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport</a> and at <a href="https://www.wbal.com/article/325387/3/growing-number-of-homeless-people-find-refuge-at-airport">Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport</a>. </p>
<p>The coronavirus pandemic has added an additional public health concern <a href="https://saportareport.com/amid-pandemic-city-plan-directs-homeless-sleeping-at-airport-to-supportive-services/columnists/sean-keenan/seankeenan/">for this group of airport denizens</a>. </p>
<p>For the most part, airport officials have tried to provide aid to these voluntary residents. At Los Angeles International Airport, for example, officials have deployed crisis intervention teams to work <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/investigations/lax-homeless-problem-bathrooms-waste/2278989/">to connect the homeless to housing and other services</a>. But it’s also clear that most airport officials would prefer a solution <a href="https://www.ajc.com/news/local/homeless-spending-night-hartsfield-jackson-prompt-police-monitoring/XKhpdJ8QZliOtGYutCsZOO/">where airports no longer operated as homeless shelters</a>.</p>
<p><em>This is an updated version of an article originally published on March 3, 2021.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154336/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janet Bednarek does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some do so of their own accord, using airport amenities to meet their basic needs. Others, however, would rather be anywhere else – and find themselves at the mercy of bureaucratic wrangling.Janet Bednarek, Professor of History, University of DaytonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1514932020-12-08T16:09:53Z2020-12-08T16:09:53ZShould you get a heat pump? Here’s how they compare to a gas boiler<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373391/original/file-20201207-15-7u5va5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C82%2C5000%2C3241&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Felix says yes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beautiful-cat-lying-down-on-radiator-1038038812">InesBazdar/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/UK-housing-Fit-for-the-future-CCC-2019.pdf">Home energy use</a> accounts for 14% of all the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, and much of that comes from gas boilers. Each time you turn up the thermostat, the burning natural gas generates heat through the radiators – and carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.</p>
<p>Some of that heat escapes the building and is wasted. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50573338">Two-thirds of homes</a> in the UK don’t meet energy efficiency standards, and decarbonising the UK’s leaky housing stock is one of the toughest tasks the government faces in its bid to make the country carbon-neutral by 2050. Heat pumps are <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Imperial-College-2018-Analysis-of-Alternative-UK-Heat-Decarbonisation-Pathways.pdf">widely seen as a solution</a>, and the UK government has announced its aim <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-ten-point-plan-for-a-green-industrial-revolution/title">to install 600,000 per year</a> by 2028.</p>
<p>There are two types of heat pumps you need to know about for heating. One extracts heat from the air, known as an air source heat pump. These are the most commonly installed varieties and resemble an air conditioning unit on the outside of your house. There are also ground source heat pumps that extract heat from the ground. Both types essentially transfer heat from one place to another by using a liquid refrigerant and a compressor in a process powered by electricity.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large air compressor unit with fan is attached to a house with cables." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373388/original/file-20201207-21-12uuyok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373388/original/file-20201207-21-12uuyok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373388/original/file-20201207-21-12uuyok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373388/original/file-20201207-21-12uuyok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373388/original/file-20201207-21-12uuyok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373388/original/file-20201207-21-12uuyok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373388/original/file-20201207-21-12uuyok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Air source heat pumps extract warm air from outside to heat the house.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/air-compressors-unit-outside-office-building-642237817">I MAKE PHOTO 17/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As it’s powered by electricity, the amount of CO₂ emitted by a heat pump depends on how that electricity is generated. Fortunately, the UK’s national grid is increasingly green: during the first quarter of 2020, renewable energy provided <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jun/25/renewable-energy-breaks-uk-record-in-first-quarter-of-2020#:%7E:text=The%20government's%20official%20data%20has,of%2039%25%20set%20last%20year.">47% of the country’s electricity</a>. But deploying heat pumps en masse will add to the peak electricity demand the national grid needs to cope with, and strain local transmission <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261917308954">cables and transformers</a>. This would be concerning on its own, but the government also plans to replace much of the UK’s fossil fuel vehicles with battery-powered alternatives – adding another load to the national grid.</p>
<p>So making housing more energy efficient would drastically reduce the overall electricity demand used for heating. This would benefit each household in turn, as heat pumps <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0143624420975707">operate more efficiently</a> in energy-efficient buildings.</p>
<p>With all that in mind, should you swap your boiler for a heat pump?</p>
<h2>How to know if a heat pump is right for you</h2>
<p>The performance of heat pumps and how much electricity they use <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032120305621">depends</a> on the heating system design. At times, this performance can be dramatically better in laboratory settings than in real homes as users are not necessarily using them in the most effective way, and the heating systems to which they’re hooked up aren’t always ideal. For example, a study of retrofitted homes in Northern Ireland showed that efficient gas boilers were actually <a href="https://pure.ulster.ac.uk/en/publications/techno-economic-assessment-of-cascade-air-to-water-heat-pump-retr">more cost-effective</a> than heat pumps. </p>
<p>Heat pumps are a lot more efficient when they run in combination with systems like underfloor heating or very large, specially designed oversized radiators that produce enough heat to warm the space without needing to run at hot temperatures. Where a heat pump is installed to replace a gas boiler, the heat pump will not work at optimum efficiency with the existing radiators, so you may need to change your radiators. For households that aren’t connected to mains gas, heat pumps are often an excellent solution, certainly better than an oil boiler, which produces high CO₂ emissions.</p>
<p>Heat pumps are also not suited to providing big boosts of heat as gas-fired boilers are. Heat pumps are like marathon runners – they like running at a moderate, continuous pace. Gas boilers are like sprinters – they operate best at high loads. Unlike with a gas boiler, it’s best to let a heat pump run throughout the night rather than switching the heating off at night and on again in the morning. </p>
<p>When turning up the temperature of heating in a heat pump system, it’s best to use small increments. This prevents the heat pump from having to run at high power, which would reduce its efficiency. If it’s your first time living with a heat pump, you’ll probably need to change your longstanding habits for controlling the heating. <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12053-012-9146-x">Research shows</a> that new users who read up on heat pumps first got the most out of their new heating system.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman's hand turning the dial on a thermostat." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373591/original/file-20201208-15-2zu63k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/373591/original/file-20201208-15-2zu63k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373591/original/file-20201208-15-2zu63k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373591/original/file-20201208-15-2zu63k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373591/original/file-20201208-15-2zu63k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373591/original/file-20201208-15-2zu63k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/373591/original/file-20201208-15-2zu63k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">How to break the habit of a lifetime?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-female-hand-on-central-heating-1007322052">Daisy Daisy/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Installers must be also be trained to fit these systems. The location of an air source heat pump is important, as some residents complain about <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12053-012-9146-x">noise</a> from fans near the windows of living spaces. In cold areas, air source heat pumps should be placed in reliably sunny spots to reduce the risk of <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032120305621">frost damage</a>. </p>
<p>Installed and run properly with an energy efficient home, heat pumps can offer great comfort – and reduce heating costs. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that replacing an old gas boiler with an air source heat pump in a four-bedroom detached home would save <a href="https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/air-source-heat-pumps/">£395-£425 per year on heating bills</a>, but may at times, compare poorly to brand new, very efficient gas boilers. Yet in most cases, heat pumps can help save a huge amount of carbon.</p>
<p>So while heat pumps are a vital part of a low-carbon strategy, they are not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each household must be considered individually. And making homes more energy efficient is as critical to the UK’s decarbonisation strategy as replacing gas boilers and investing in renewable energy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151493/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aurore Julien is research manager for the Eastern New Energy Project, which receives funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. Eastern New Energy is working to build a low-carbon economy reliant on locally generated energy in the East of England.</span></em></p>Heat pumps use electricity to transfer warmth from outside to inside a house.Aurore Julien, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Design, University of East LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1488072020-11-23T19:03:31Z2020-11-23T19:03:31ZIt seemed like a good idea in lockdown, but is moving to the country right for you?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366345/original/file-20201029-15-15wj3th.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C2587%2C1677&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"></span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The idea of moving to the country has <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-10/post-covid-19-pandemic-simpler-life-migration/12229082">gained momentum</a> through the COVID-19 pandemic. Many workplaces have introduced <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-management-resistance-overcome-working-from-home-may-be-here-to-stay-144850">new policies on working from home</a> that give employees the flexibility needed to make the switch. </p>
<p>Lockdowns have shown many just how cramped and uncomfortable life can be when you cannot escape to the usual activities that get you out of the house. And if everything is closed, what is the point of being in the city and paying a higher rent or mortgage anyway? The Reserve Bank has <a href="https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/bulletin/2020/sep/the-rental-market-and-covid-19.html">noted rents have gone down</a> and vacancy rates have gone up in major cities.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/regional-australias-time-has-come-planning-for-growth-is-now-vital-149170">Regional Australia's time has come – planning for growth is now vital</a>
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<p>At the same time, some real estate agents have <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-15/australians-seek-regional-affordability-house-prices-coronavirus/12242252">noticed an upturn</a> in interest in renting or buying rural and regional properties. The <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/these-are-the-best-performing-property-markets-in-australia-domain-house-price-report-1000315/">demand in some regional areas</a> has pushed up prices by <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/where-regional-australian-house-prices-moved-the-most-domain-house-price-report-1000799/">as much as 30%</a> in the year to October. It seems many are already making the switch to country living.</p>
<p>It sounds idyllic. Escape the rat race, have space to grow veggies and let the kids play outside. You won’t have to commute any more, and you might even be able to buy a house in the country at a time when city prices remain out of reach for many. You could be living the dream.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370489/original/file-20201120-17-tlk6zm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="aerial image of Hopkins River and Warrnambool" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370489/original/file-20201120-17-tlk6zm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370489/original/file-20201120-17-tlk6zm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370489/original/file-20201120-17-tlk6zm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370489/original/file-20201120-17-tlk6zm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370489/original/file-20201120-17-tlk6zm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370489/original/file-20201120-17-tlk6zm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370489/original/file-20201120-17-tlk6zm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The surge of interest in living in coastal towns like Warrnambool in Victoria has already pushed up regional property prices.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hopkins-river-warrnambool-town-australia-aerial-1390082903">Greg Brave/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>Find a place that matches your values</h2>
<p>So how do you know if this is right for you, or a disaster waiting to happen?</p>
<p>In <a href="https://eprints.usq.edu.au/34713/">my research</a> with people who moved to the country, I found successful moves came down to how closely aligned people’s values were with the attributes of the place they moved to. For example, some people value space and quiet more than bustle and activity. If they found these attributes in their new home, then they were able to craft a new life that was deeply satisfying. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-moving-house-changes-you-109225">How moving house changes you</a>
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<p>When you look through the pages of a glossy magazine such as Country Style, you might find yourself yearning for the lifestyle it depicts – the grassy fields, the peaceful but quirky homes filled with flea-market finds, the home-grown abundance and the happy, contented people. These are long-held and highly regarded values that many hold dear. </p>
<p>The roots of these ideals are deep. Representations of the country as a rural idyll, a place to escape to, are centuries older than our <a href="https://theconversation.com/imagining-your-own-seachange-how-media-inspire-our-great-escapes-105207">current media</a>. </p>
<p>Epicurus (340BC to 270BC) moved from the centre of Athens to the countryside just outside so he could grow vegetables and live simply. Virgil’s (70BC to 19BC) Eclogues emphasised a rural idyll, as did much later painters such as John Constable and Eugene von Guérard. Henry David Thoreau’s Walden (1845) is an oft-quoted classic about an urban dweller moving to a rural place to live a better life (albeit temporarily in his case).</p>
<p>Early Australian writers such as A.B. “Banjo” Paterson and Henry Lawson took up this nostalgic ideal in the fledgling colony. So did artists such as Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Charles Condor when they travelled to then-rural Heidelberg, now part of Melbourne, to paint the uniquely Australian countryside. </p>
<p>More recently, we have seen Peter Mayle’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Year_in_Provence">A Year in Provence</a> (1991) sketch a romantic picture of city dwellers moving to rural France. And there are popular television series such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Life_(1975_TV_series)">The Good Life</a> (1975-77), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SeaChange">Seachange</a> (1998-2000, 2019), <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Cottage_Australia">River Cottage Australia</a> (2013-16) and most recently <a href="https://tvtonight.com.au/2020/10/escape-from-the-city-reaches-final-episode.html">Escape from the City</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="three women on a rural property" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370486/original/file-20201120-15-bwn27j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370486/original/file-20201120-15-bwn27j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370486/original/file-20201120-15-bwn27j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370486/original/file-20201120-15-bwn27j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370486/original/file-20201120-15-bwn27j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370486/original/file-20201120-15-bwn27j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/370486/original/file-20201120-15-bwn27j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Escape from the City is explicitly pitched at people who ‘dream of a quieter life’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://iview.abc.net.au/show/escape-from-the-city">ABC iView</a></span>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/imagining-your-own-seachange-how-media-inspire-our-great-escapes-105207">Imagining your own SeaChange – how media inspire our great escapes</a>
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<h2>Beware the gap between depictions and reality</h2>
<p>We know the media are a powerful factor in helping us develop and share our identity and personal narratives. We respond to television shows, books and magazines that we are interested in by becoming their audience. We might share values, goals, ideas or even similar stories with the media we watch. We then, consciously or unconsciously, learn from or adopt those ideas and values in a process of socialisation that shows us how we might live a better life. </p>
<p>Media are only a representation, however. A multitude of factors, not least of which are sales and advertising revenues, go into the process of decision-making as images and stories are crafted for the various outlets. There can be a tendency for media to adopt stereotypes as a shorthand form of communication, but these do not necessarily reflect the reality they purport to depict. </p>
<p>This might seem obvious, but it is all too easy to accept these images as truth when we are inclined towards that viewpoint anyway. </p>
<p>Do you value the things that make a rural place what it is, whether that is peacefulness, an absence of people, vistas of rolling hills, or the community of a small country town? If you do, there’s a good chance a move to the country will enable you to live more closely in line with your values and so be a successful one. </p>
<p>If, on the other hand, you value city-style living, which includes attractions, shops, events and being close to services, you might want to reassess whether a seachange or treechange is right for you. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-how-city-girls-can-learn-to-feel-at-home-in-the-country-124579">Should I stay or should I go: how 'city girls' can learn to feel at home in the country</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148807/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachael Wallis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Don’t just let idyllic representations of life in the country seduce you. Making a successful move depends on ensuring the place you have chosen is a good match for your values and needs.Rachael Wallis, Lecturer, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1489612020-11-08T13:56:27Z2020-11-08T13:56:27ZWhy some workers are opting to live in their vans<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367844/original/file-20201105-21-eld2xc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=810%2C259%2C4499%2C2270&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Vanlifers enjoy the freedom of living in their vans.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Alex Guillaume/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A growing number of people are redefining what “home” looks like. For many of them, it looks like a van. </p>
<p>The trend to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vanlife?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Ehashtag">#vanlife</a> is fuelled by the declining affordability of homes, rental shortages in urban centres and resort communities, and by a shift in our definition of “community” from physical neighbourhood to online <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/24/vanlife-the-bohemian-social-media-movement">social networks</a>. </p>
<p>Judging from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-02-2020-0029">our research</a>, there are very different understandings of this choice of residence depending on which side of the steering wheel you’re on. But understanding the experiences of van dwellers is important not just for those looking to cut their ties to rents and mortgages, but also for community planners and employers. </p>
<p>As organization scholars, we believe understanding the shifting definition of home in the work-life balance equation is important. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/apps.12168">Most research</a> on work-life balance focuses on finding ways to fit work into our homes and lives. That includes by either changing the way work is done or by providing programs such as daycare, eldercare or telecommuting that help workers better fit their work into their homes. </p>
<p>But these adaptations aren’t available for many workers. Construction work can’t take place on a Zoom call and flexible schedules don’t work well when you’re a bus driver. And many companies, for many reasons, are unwilling to invest in the programs that make work more flexible. </p>
<h2>Redefining homes</h2>
<p>Our research, based on interviews of working people who live in vans, finds that some workers are redefining their homes rather than relying on employers to redefine their work. They’re enabled by the social media movement #vanlife that provides tips on refitting vehicles with beds, baths and kitchens, on friendly (and unfriendly) places to park overnight and a thriving community of #vanlife commodities. The people known as vanlifers reject traditional notions of home ownership and take their residence on the road. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1323626291996860421"}"></div></p>
<p>This may sound like mobile home vacationers, but the vanlife phenomenon is not about vacationing. Rather, <a href="https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/van-living-documentary-2019">it’s a choice</a> that people with jobs are making, especially in high-cost markets <a href="https://www.vancourier.com/living/vancouver-is-the-most-instagrammed-vanlife-location-in-the-world-1.24050850">like Vancouver</a>, San Francisco and Seattle.</p>
<p>From the point of view of communities and homeowners, van dwellers <a href="https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/handle/1773/44706">occupy a category of homelessness</a>. In the winter of 2019, the resort town of Canmore, Alta., <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5276365/canmore-van-lifers-parking-ban/">grappled with the growing number of vans parking in community centres and shopping mall parking lots</a>. Local residents complained of noise, mess and the use of recreation centre facilities by the van dwellers. </p>
<p>There have been similar stories in Canada, including in <a href="https://www.theloop.ca/how-does-one-live-in-a-panel-van-exactly/">Vancouver</a>, Victoria and Squamish, B.C. </p>
<p>Local news narratives tend to paint the van dwellers as a transient group squatting on public space. These are valid concerns for communities, but the communities that complain about non-standard living arrangements are often dependent on the low-wage workers who tend to populate them and provide them with the goods and services they need. </p>
<h2>Made a different choice</h2>
<p>We set out to understand the van dweller lifestyle from their perspective and found several common themes. First, van dwellers categorically reject the homeless label. Many respondents made clear they’d simply made a different choice than most when it comes to how they live. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman sits smiling in the back of her van." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367142/original/file-20201103-21-18e70n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367142/original/file-20201103-21-18e70n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367142/original/file-20201103-21-18e70n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367142/original/file-20201103-21-18e70n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367142/original/file-20201103-21-18e70n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367142/original/file-20201103-21-18e70n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367142/original/file-20201103-21-18e70n5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A woman prepares a van that she plans to move into in New Hampshire.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Hilary Bird/Unsplash)</span></span>
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<p>They see van dwelling as a source of freedom from mortgages, rent, utilities and the possessions that come with traditional dwelling places. </p>
<p>One respondent, a club disc jockey, told us that as a renter, he needed to work more than two weeks every month just to pay his rent. In a van, he says, he has extra time and money to live a lifestyle he otherwise could not afford. </p>
<p>A construction worker lived in a van so that he could take half the year off for recreational travel, something that owning or renting would make unaffordable for him.</p>
<p>In addition to financial freedom, van dwellers told us it gave them more career freedom, opening up opportunities they couldn’t otherwise have taken. </p>
<p>A warehouse worker from California relocated to Washington to take advantage of higher wages. An on-call schoolteacher in Vancouver could take different assignments without suffering two-hour commutes. Instead, he moved his home/van in the evening when traffic was light. </p>
<h2>Harmony</h2>
<p>Finally, van dwellers extolled the harmony between work demands and their lives. They consistently told us they could enjoy their lifestyle regardless of work locations and schedules that would be challenging for many. Like the schoolteacher, a bus driver who works out of three depots scattered across B.C.’s lower mainland talked of how her living arrangements eliminated the stress by ridding her of the morning commute.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A green van is seen on a sunny, deserted highway." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367143/original/file-20201103-27968-16unob8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367143/original/file-20201103-27968-16unob8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367143/original/file-20201103-27968-16unob8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367143/original/file-20201103-27968-16unob8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367143/original/file-20201103-27968-16unob8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367143/original/file-20201103-27968-16unob8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367143/original/file-20201103-27968-16unob8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Vanlifers extol the virtues of mobility.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Hilary Bird/Unsplash)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Van dwellers did report some negatives. </p>
<p>Some found the chore of finding parking places where they weren’t targets for ticketing or community frustration to be an ongoing challenge. Others felt their workplaces might stigmatize their choice, requiring them to hide their lifestyle in fear of harming their or their employer’s reputation. </p>
<p>On the whole, though, van dwellers rejected typical notions of home.</p>
<p>Just as vanlifers have reimagined the definition of home, perhaps it’s time for society and employers to reimagine where workers live. For employers, van living may provide access to workers, particularly in high-cost housing markets or tight employment markets.</p>
<p>Providing basic services such as showers or parking spots with power sources, ensuring employees are not discriminated against based on how they’ve chosen to live or simply acknowledging that someone’s choice of residence is no threat to anyone’s livelihood may create better outcomes for van dwellers, their employers and the communities where they work.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148961/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Understanding the experiences of van dwellers is important not just for those looking to cut their ties to rents and mortgages, but also for community planners and employers.Scott B. Rankin, Assistant Professor, Human Resources, Thompson Rivers UniversityAngus J Duff, Associate Professor, Human Resources, Thompson Rivers UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1476372020-10-19T14:27:44Z2020-10-19T14:27:44ZHouse plants were our link with nature in lockdown – now they could change how we relate to the natural world<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363258/original/file-20201013-19-ije6ig.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=486%2C697%2C3328%2C1789&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/small-green-cactus-clay-pots-pastel-1140516020">Rachasie/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>They’re not the first generation to keep house plants, but millennials seem to have earned a reputation for gratuitous indoor foliage. Bloomberg reporter <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-04-11/the-one-thing-millennials-haven-t-killed-is-houseplants">Matthew Boyle</a> claimed that young people have helped revive “the once moribund market for house plants” in the US, where, according to the National Gardening Association, sales surged 50% between 2016 and 2019. In the UK, the <a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/press/releases/RHS-grows-houseplant-and-floristry-offering-as-ind">Royal Agricultural Society</a> reported a 65% increase in house plant sales in 2018 alone.</p>
<p>Why young people in particular might be so fond of house plants has invited numerous explanations. Lifestyle reporter <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/millennials-obsessed-houseplants-instagram_l_5d7a976de4b01c1970c433b9">Casey Bond</a> argued that house plants offer something to nurture that’s cheap and doesn’t involve a lot of maintenance, with obvious appeal to a generation whose entry into parenthood is stymied by <a href="https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/uk-average-house-price-rise-2020-millennials-versus-baby-boomers-property-ladder-060042411.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEB84LlmZFsNTokd-kxf2HFZXpB5M_lQhZNMVcKQDBuUevGNEPHF8y2GNnE7xm_bdrYrgdZNrnENbC95LxdHuqCfekpSaSlJN6S99Z0fartMMnBdzbAAsHvvoa425lyGr5lsYK9h6UvugjtPP83kxYKjVT2TL-9cwdileX-xdpEo">house prices</a> and <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/241f0fe4-08f8-4d42-a268-4f0a399a0063">economic instability</a>. Young people today are thought to be more conscious of mental health and self-care too, and plants have been <a href="https://journals.ashs.org/horttech/view/journals/horttech/30/1/article-p55.xml?ArticleBodyColorStyles=fullText">proven</a> to reduce stress levels and improve mood.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large-leafed house plant with frilled edges." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363249/original/file-20201013-21-148ttto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363249/original/file-20201013-21-148ttto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363249/original/file-20201013-21-148ttto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363249/original/file-20201013-21-148ttto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363249/original/file-20201013-21-148ttto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363249/original/file-20201013-21-148ttto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363249/original/file-20201013-21-148ttto.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Monstera (or Swiss cheese plants) are particularly popular.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/zcVArTF8Frs">Kara Eads/Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the <a href="https://canongate.co.uk/books/2902-rootbound-rewilding-a-life/">universal appeal</a> of house plants, according to writer <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/07/succulent-mania-smuggling-millennials-roots">Alice Vincent</a>, is that they provide “a tangible way of connecting with nature that is absent from an increasingly screen-based world”. That could explain why their sales ballooned again during lockdown, and not just among younger customers. </p>
<p>Anthropologist Gideon Lasco described the phenomenon in his native Philippines as a “<a href="https://www.sapiens.org/column/entanglements/covid-19-houseplants/?fbclid=IwAR32a9PK_rf4GsMQ0pTRPlE3LXvNtRgJch48YaCGMztStvc-VN6ZHxNykpY">botanical boom</a>” that seized Manila. Plants, far more mobile than locked down humans, were ordered online in record numbers and ferried to anxious households where they acquired names and were photographed alongside their new family. Patch, a British online plant store established in 2015, reported a sales increase of 500% during lockdown, with stock intended to last 12 weeks <a href="https://supplycompass.com/blog/feature/inconversationwith/patch/">vanishing in two</a>.</p>
<p>Since June 2020, I’ve been talking to people around the world to better understand the role plants play in these times of forced isolation. My project, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/careforplants/">Care for Plants</a>, started by collecting photographs and videos of people caring for their plants and asking them to explain what they meant to them. By interviewing some of these people, I learned how plants provide care for their human companions too. </p>
<h2>A potted history</h2>
<p>Plants offered not only bonding, but recreational and educational opportunities to their human families during lockdown. Brian started growing tomatoes with his children – part scientific experiment, part family pastime. Mai had to keep her toddler busy, and turned the chore of watering and re-potting her plants into a fun activity. </p>
<p>With her access to the outside world restricted, Aoife found solace in nature, and would gently submerge her hand in the soil to decompress and heal after a long day. Likewise, Aveline described her experience with plants as one that “empties the mind so that I can stop being anxious”. Merima talked about her lawn as a “void filler” for her family. “In the lawn we can still talk about the future. What should we plant and do next and it’s a very positive experience.”</p>
<p>The pandemic tore away our shared sense of normality. Amid the rupture, caring for plants invited welcome new routines – watering, feeding, trimming and re-potting. Plants provided an escape from the anxieties of everyday life, offering beauty and proof that life could still flourish in the darkest times. Xin, who showed me her indoor jungle over a video call, told me that “more plants make a place feel luxurious. A sort of lockdown luxury for those who can work from home and create a nest”. </p>
<p>But one of the most interesting aspects of my research was listening to stories about how people discovered a need to appreciate plants. Laura explained that she felt a new responsibility towards her plants because she more fully appreciated their companionship. Lucia, whose vibrant social life had made her largely unavailable to her plants, was finally able to keep them alive and wanted to learn how to make them feel appreciated, as a way of acknowledging how they enriched her life in lockdown. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CBSnV6WAwaM","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>New shoots</h2>
<p>Conversations about care have multiplied during the pandemic. We clapped for carers and saw grassroots <a href="https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745343167/pandemic-solidarity/">mutual aid networks</a> emerge, providing care in our neighbourhoods and often filling in for <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/3706-care-manifesto">inadequate public provision</a>.</p>
<p>But speaking with plant owners in lockdown, I unearthed new networks of care and solidarity between humans and other species. The gratitude that people felt for their floral companions challenged the view that nature exists simply to be used by humans and made many see for the first time how non-human beings enrich our social world. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/humanity-and-nature-are-not-separate-we-must-see-them-as-one-to-fix-the-climate-crisis-122110">Humanity and nature are not separate – we must see them as one to fix the climate crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>The stories I collected suggest we need a broader understanding of social relationships and solidarity; one that appreciates the importance of non-humans in everyday life. Many hope that the pandemic marks a turning point in the way humans interact with the rest of the natural world. Perhaps this watershed could be reached in our own homes, by recognising that the non-humans we share our lives with are equal partners in building a more sustainable and just future. </p>
<p><em>All names have been changed to protect the individuals’ identities.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147637/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Giulia Carabelli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>House plants enrich our domestic lives in ways we often fail to notice. But lockdown may have changed all that.Giulia Carabelli, Lecturer in Sociology, Queen's University BelfastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1469792020-10-13T13:24:01Z2020-10-13T13:24:01ZYes, more and more young adults are living with their parents – but is that necessarily bad?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362542/original/file-20201008-24-1orggfk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C464%2C7082%2C4725&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Millions of college students have been living at home since their campuses closed due to the coronavirus.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/host-welcome-couple-guest-at-house-rental-bed-and-royalty-free-image/1074637142?adppopup=true&uiloc=thumbnail_similar_images_adp">FG Trade via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When the Pew Research Center <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/09/04/a-majority-of-young-adults-in-the-u-s-live-with-their-parents-for-the-first-time-since-the-great-depression/">reported</a> in 2020 that the proportion of 18-to-29-year-old Americans who live with their parents has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, perhaps you saw some of the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/04/us/children-living-with-parents-pandemic-pew/index.html">breathless</a> <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2020/09/04/more-young-people-living-with-their-parents-than-in-the-great-depression-report-says/#46eb14c351a3">headlines</a> hyping how it’s higher than at any time since the Great Depression.</p>
<p>From my perspective, the real story here is less alarming than you might think. And it’s actually quite a bit more interesting than the sound bite summary. </p>
<p>For 30 years <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=8bvGDaYAAAAJ&hl=en">I’ve been studying</a> 18-to-29-year-olds, an age group I call “<a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Emerging_Adulthood/MUtRBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=emerging+adulthood+winding+through+20s&printsec=frontcover">emerging adults</a>” to describe their in-between status as no longer adolescents, but not fully adult. </p>
<p>Even 30 years ago, adulthood – typically marked by a stable job, a long-term partnership and financial independence – was coming later than it had in the past. </p>
<p>Yes, a lot of emerging adults are now living with their parents. But this is part of a larger, longer trend, with the percentage going up only modestly since COVID-19 hit. Furthermore, having grown kids still at home is not likely to do you, or them, any permanent harm. In fact, until very recently, it’s been the way adults have typically lived throughout history. Even now, it’s a common practice in most of the world.</p>
<h2>Staying home is not new or unusual</h2>
<p>Drawing on the federal government’s monthly <a href="https://www.bls.gov/cps/">Current Population Survey</a>, the Pew Report showed that 52% of 18-to-29-year-olds are currently living with their parents, up from 47% in February. The increase was mostly among the younger emerging adults – ages 18 to 24 – and was primarily due to their coming home from colleges that shut down or to their having lost their jobs. </p>
<p>Although 52% is the highest percentage in over a century, this number has, in fact, been rising steadily since hitting a low of 29% in 1960. <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Emerging_Adulthood_and_Higher_Education.html?id=3B9tDwAAQBAJ">The main reason</a> for the rise is that more and more young people continued their education into their 20s as the economy shifted from manufacturing to information and technology. When they’re enrolled in school, most don’t make enough money to live independently. </p>
<p>Before 1900 in the United States, it was typical for young people to live at home until they married in their mid-20s, and there was nothing shameful about it. They usually started working by their early teens – <a href="http://www.jeffreyarnett.com/articles/ARNETT_Learning_to_stand_alone.pdf">it was rare then for kids to get even a high school education</a> – and their families relied upon the extra income. Virginity for young women was highly prized, <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/From_Front_Porch_to_Back_Seat/Jsd8LhrgkLoC?hl=en&gbpv=0">so it was moving out before marriage that was scandalous</a>, not staying home where they could be shielded from young men. </p>
<p>In most of the world today, it is <a href="https://wordpress.clarku.edu/ljensen/wp-content/blogs.dir/164/files/2013/11/2012-JSI-Jensen-Arnett-Going-Global-Final.pdf">still typical for emerging adults to stay home until at least their late 20s</a>. In countries where collectivism is more highly valued than individualism – in places as diverse as Italy, Japan and Mexico – parents mostly prefer to have their emerging adults stay home until marriage. In fact, even after marriage it remains a common cultural tradition for a young man to bring his wife into his parents’ household rather than move out. </p>
<p><a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ndHLVuzcgqsC&oi=fnd&pg=PA33&dq=pension+system+history+%22developed+countries%22&ots=ymGgSZZzX5&sig=gVmgl_BBooZ3lm7f7riagGHeYGs#v=onepage&q=pension%20system%20history%20%22developed%20countries%22&f=false">Until the modern pension system arose about a century ago</a>, aging parents were highly vulnerable and needed their adult children and daughters-in-law to care for them in their later years. This tradition persists in many countries, including the two most populous countries in the world, India and China.</p>
<p><a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Habits_of_the_Heart.html?id=5DQHmykT6u4C">In today’s individualistic U.S.</a>, we mostly expect our kids to hit the road by age 18 or 19 so they can learn to be independent and self-sufficient. If they don’t, we may worry that there is something wrong with them. </p>
<h2>You’ll miss them when they’re gone</h2>
<p>Because I’ve been researching emerging adults for a long time, I’ve been doing a lot of television, radio and print interviews since the Pew report was released.</p>
<p>Always, the premise seems to be the same: Isn’t this awful? </p>
<p>I would readily agree that it’s awful to have your education derailed or to lose your job because of the pandemic. But it’s not awful to live with your parents during emerging adulthood. Like most of the rest of family life, it’s a mixed bag: It’s a pain in some ways, and rewarding in others.</p>
<p><a href="http://www2.clarku.edu/clark-poll-emerging-adults/pdfs/clark-university-poll-emerging-adults-findings.pdf">In a national survey of 18-to-29-year-olds</a> I directed before the pandemic, 76% of them agreed that they get along better with their parents now than they did in adolescence, but almost the same majority – 74% – agreed, “I would prefer to live independently of my parents, even if it means living on a tight budget.” </p>
<p>Parents express similar ambivalence. <a href="http://www2.clarku.edu/clark-poll-emerging-adults/pdfs/clark-university-poll-parents-emerging-adults.pdf">In a separate national survey I directed</a>, 61% of parents who had an 18-to-29-year-old living at home were “mostly positive” about that living arrangement, and about the same percentage agreed that living together resulted in greater emotional closeness and companionship with their emerging adults. On the other hand, 40% of the parents agreed that having their emerging adults at home meant worrying about them more, and about 25% said it resulted in more conflict and more disruption to their daily lives. </p>
<p>As much as most parents enjoy having their emerging adults around, they tend to be ready to move on to <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Getting_to_30.html?id=F65XSqY_qasC">the next stage of their lives</a> when their youngest kid reaches their 20s. They have plans they’ve been delaying for a long time – to travel, to take up new forms of recreation and perhaps to retire or change jobs. </p>
<p>Those who are married often view this new phase as a time to get to know their spouse again – or as a time <a href="https://ifstudies.org/blog/who-is-at-risk-for-a-gray-divorce-it-depends">to admit their marriage has run its course</a>. Those who are divorced or widowed can now have an overnight guest without worrying about scrutiny from their adult child at the breakfast table the next morning. </p>
<p>My wife, Lene, and I have direct experience to draw on with our 20-year-old twins, who came home in March after their colleges closed, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/26/how-coronavirus-changed-college-for-over-14-million-students.html">an experience shared with millions of students nationwide</a>. I’ll admit we were enjoying our time as a couple before they moved back in, but nevertheless it was a delight having them unexpectedly return, as they are full of love and add so much liveliness to the dinner table. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>Now the fall semester has started and our daughter, Paris, is still home taking her courses via Zoom, whereas our son, Miles, has returned to college. We’re savoring these months with Paris. She has a great sense of humor and makes an excellent Korean tofu rice bowl. And we all know it won’t last.</p>
<p>That’s something worth remembering for all of us during these strange times, especially for parents and emerging adults who find themselves sharing living quarters again. It won’t last. </p>
<p>You could see this unexpected change as awful, as a royal pain and daily stress. Or you could see it as one more chance to get to know each other as adults, before the emerging adult sails once again over the horizon, this time never to return.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146979/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeffrey Arnett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The U.S. was an outlier in the 20th century. It’s been typical throughout human history, and even today, it’s common practice in most of the world.Jeffrey Arnett, Senior Research Scholar, Department of Psychology, Clark UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1415562020-07-13T11:12:16Z2020-07-13T11:12:16ZHomeless numbers set to rise – but lockdown shows government can solve this<p>At the start of lockdown, there <a href="https://www.nottinghampost.com/whats-on/food-drink/nottingham-chip-shop-steps-help-4239268">were many</a> heartwarming <a href="https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2020/04/01/charity-launches-uks-first-free-food-delivery-service-for-homeless/">stories of</a> countless <a href="https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/this-country-done-lot-thought-4041103">restaurants, cafes and bars</a> that turned their attention and resources to feeding the homeless for free. There was also a considerable financial commitment from the government to accomodate more than 5,000 rough sleepers <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dame-louise-casey-writes-to-local-authority-homelessness-managers-and-rough-sleeping-coordinators/dame-louise-casey-writes-to-local-authority-homelessness-managers-and-rough-sleeping-coordinators">in hotels</a> up and down the country. </p>
<p>But as lockdown rolls on, it seems some homeless people are <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-some-homeless-people-prefer-sleeping-rough-to-hostels-or-hotels-139414">choosing to leave</a> or even being evicted from their temporary accommodation. This is despite efforts from support workers, local councils and the government to enable them to “stay at home”. </p>
<p>With many hotels and B&Bs now reopening for tourists, there is also a real risk that many other homeless people will simply be returning to rough sleeping <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52985450">in the coming days and weeks</a>. And along with the risks that come with <a href="https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/types-of-homelessness/its-no-life-at-all-2016/">rough sleeping</a>, being homeless also increases the likelihood of <a href="https://www.homeless.org.uk/connect/blogs/2020/mar/05/covid-19-coronavirus-outbreak">contracting and spreading COVID-19</a>.</p>
<h2>True scale of the problem</h2>
<p>In total, £1.6 billion has been <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dame-louise-casey-writes-to-local-authority-homelessness-managers-and-rough-sleeping-coordinators/dame-louise-casey-writes-to-local-authority-homelessness-managers-and-rough-sleeping-coordinators">promised by</a> the government to local councils in a bid to stop people returning to the streets. But if people have already left or been forced to leave their temporary accommodation, this golden opportunity to prevent a return to homelessness may slip away.</p>
<p>There’s also the fact that the number of people in need of housing seems far greater than the 5,000 or so rough sleepers housed in the early lockdown figures. Such estimates do not include the “<a href="https://blog.shelter.org.uk/2019/01/we-can-and-must-end-the-rough-sleeping-emergency/">hidden homeless</a>” – people housed in temporary accommodation, sofa-surfing with no fixed address, or using night busses to avoid bedding down on the streets. Adding these people increases homeless <a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/media/press_releases/articles/320,000_people_in_britain_are_now_homeless,_as_numbers_keep_rising">estimates to 320,000</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346416/original/file-20200708-3999-1x1lgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346416/original/file-20200708-3999-1x1lgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346416/original/file-20200708-3999-1x1lgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346416/original/file-20200708-3999-1x1lgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346416/original/file-20200708-3999-1x1lgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346416/original/file-20200708-3999-1x1lgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346416/original/file-20200708-3999-1x1lgsi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many people who become homeless do not show up in official figures.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sleeping-homeless-man-bag-on-sidewalk-1592377063">R. Rose/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/policy_and_research/policy_library/policy_library_folder/shelter_submission_hclg_select_committee_inquiry_into_the_impact_of_covid-19_on_homelessness_and_the_private_rented_sector">Research by Shelter</a> also predicts there will be a massive increase in the number of people who could face homelessness over the coming year. The charity warns that nearly 2 million tenants are expected to be newly unemployed by the end of June 2020 – which will put many families at risk of homelessness.</p>
<h2>More than a roof</h2>
<p>But ending homelessness isn’t just about providing a roof. Homelessness is a complex issue that can result from a huge range of unmet needs – such as mental and physical health problems, a dysfunctional family background and addiction. </p>
<p>For example, a key issue among homeless people appears to be mental health problems. In June 2019 the number of households in temporary accommodation was 86,130. Of these, 45% were identified as having one or more support need – most <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/852953/Statutory_Homelessness_Statistical_Release_Apr-Jun_2019.pdf">commonly mental health</a>. </p>
<p>Shelter tries to address some of these <a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1361921/Multiple_Complex_Needs_Service.pdf">unmet needs</a> by supporting people to improve their health and wellbeing. The charity also aims to reduce hospital admissions and re-offending rates among the homeless community, while also offering assistance to access other kinds of help alongside housing. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346422/original/file-20200708-43-1tyibc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346422/original/file-20200708-43-1tyibc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346422/original/file-20200708-43-1tyibc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346422/original/file-20200708-43-1tyibc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346422/original/file-20200708-43-1tyibc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346422/original/file-20200708-43-1tyibc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346422/original/file-20200708-43-1tyibc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A weight of expectation is placed on homeless people to trust and feel safe with an unfamiliar way of living when they are housed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/african-american-father-talking-upset-mixed-1282522474">Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While this goes some way to help, what is really needed is for the government to view homelessness as more than simply a <a href="http://theconversation.com/theres-more-to-homelessness-than-rooflessness-6225">problem of rooflessness</a> – with a varied response to emergency housing depending on individual need. This is important because homelessness and the concept of “<a href="http://artsites.ucsc.edu/sdaniel/177_2015/homelessness_and_meaningofhome.pdf">home</a>” means something different to every homeless person – so the solution must be unique to each person.</p>
<p>Meeting the needs of the homeless can also be simplified if service improvements – such as where and when help is made available – include ideas from service users. This would help to design services that deliver <a href="https://www.chadresearch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/City-Centre-Rough-Sleeping-and-Street-Activity-Report.pdf">long-term solutions that work</a>.</p>
<h2>Time for action</h2>
<p>As we move towards a “new normal”, with <a href="https://theconversation.com/summer-statement-rishi-sunak-goes-all-out-for-jobs-leaving-public-finances-for-another-day-140605">measures</a> to <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-recovery-the-new-economic-thinking-we-need-141339">restart the economy</a>, it’s hoped some of the tougher, more enduring inequalities that plague society can be included in that approach. As a nation, we have shown we can jump into action. And politicians have shown they can act quickly. </p>
<p>But if long-term housing of homeless citizens is to be implemented, a redefinition of the idea of homelessness is necessary, to make it about more than just rooflessness – and this needs to happen sooner rather than later. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346419/original/file-20200708-19-1o7hzks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/346419/original/file-20200708-19-1o7hzks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346419/original/file-20200708-19-1o7hzks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346419/original/file-20200708-19-1o7hzks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346419/original/file-20200708-19-1o7hzks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346419/original/file-20200708-19-1o7hzks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/346419/original/file-20200708-19-1o7hzks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many families may be unable to pay the rent and forced out of their homes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/african-american-father-talking-upset-mixed-1282522474">fizkes/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The fast pace of action towards providing emergency accommodation now needs to be used to help services evolve to support homeless people in tune with their individual needs. </p>
<p>Indeed, this cannot just be mulled over in academic discussion or wrestled over in political debate. These people need urgent action before they end up back on the streets, with many more in danger of joining them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141556/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona Hassett does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Pandemic is once in a generation opportunity to help homeless people stay off the streets for good – we must not waste this.Fiona Hassett, PhD Candidate in the School of Law, Policing and Forensics, Staffordshire UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1402082020-06-29T11:39:25Z2020-06-29T11:39:25ZHow to make your house and garden more tranquil – tips from an acoustics expert<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343487/original/file-20200623-188896-1lpfnef.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C23%2C5145%2C3422&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of us have been spending more time at home than ever before, and chances are unless you live by yourself in the middle of nowhere, at some point unwanted noise will have infiltrated your lockdown.</p>
<p>Whether it’s cars passing nearby, a neighbour’s blaring music or the constant drone of a lawnmower, the trouble with sound is that – unlike light – it can be hard to block out completely. This is because it’s <a href="https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/sound/u11l1c.cfm">a pressure wave</a> in air that readily diffracts around objects and easily passes through porous obstacles such as trees and shrubs. </p>
<p>The wind and temperature gradient in the atmosphere also <a href="https://morgridge.org/blue-sky/how-do-temperature-and-wind-affect-traffic-noise/">affects transmission</a> of noise. This is why we may hear the noise from a distant motorway if the wind is blowing from that direction – or think the motorway has moved to the bottom of the garden on a cold still morning when there is a temperature inversion – this is when there are warmer layers of air above colder ones.</p>
<p>Another issue with sound is that people living in a quiet area may be more seriously disturbed by the odd passing vehicle than people living in an area where traffic noise is more constant.</p>
<h2>Creating quiet</h2>
<p>Reducing noise at source is usually the best course of action. Ideally, many of us would like to reduce the number of noisy vehicles passing our homes and gardens but unfortunately, we can’t control this. In the case of road traffic, reducing the speed limit would help – as would a smoother road surface or, better still, a surface that absorbs sound such as porous asphalt. These are all jobs for the highway authority – but they may have more pressing claims on their budgets.</p>
<p>There are, however, things you can do around your house and garden to make things a little more peaceful. A barrier such as a close boarded fence, earth mound or wall close to the road should help – but they will have to be long enough and high enough to have much effect.</p>
<p>Much depends on where the house is in relation to the road. The aim would be to position any barrier so that the road is not in view from any exposed window or part of the garden. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344071/original/file-20200625-33511-1jmpz3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/344071/original/file-20200625-33511-1jmpz3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344071/original/file-20200625-33511-1jmpz3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344071/original/file-20200625-33511-1jmpz3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344071/original/file-20200625-33511-1jmpz3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344071/original/file-20200625-33511-1jmpz3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/344071/original/file-20200625-33511-1jmpz3u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A high wall or substantial fence can reduce traffic noise if placed close to the road.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If noise can’t be controlled over the whole garden then consider making a tranquil zone in part of the garden where you can relax. This might involve building a wall or fence around part of the area to block the major sources of noise while not forgetting that the house itself can act as an effective barrier. </p>
<p><a href="https://bradscholars.brad.ac.uk/handle/10454/11576">A water feature</a> may also help to mask residual noise. The more natural sounding this is the better – but make sure it’s not too noisy, as this may be disturbing to you or your neighbours.</p>
<h2>Natural features</h2>
<p>Interestingly our <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-tranquil-spaces-can-help-people-feel-calm-and-relaxed-in-cities-82358">perception of tranquillity</a> is shaped not only by the sounds we hear but also what we see. </p>
<p>A study involving brain scans has shown that we process auditory information differently <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20600971/">depending on the scene in view</a>. The noise of a sandy beach and motorway at distance are quite similar, but research has shown that if using the same sound recording while showing a beach scene (as opposed to a motorway scene) to volunteers in an MRI scanner, the resulting brain patterns differ significantly. The rated tranquillity also differs significantly. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343488/original/file-20200623-188900-dqoju0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343488/original/file-20200623-188900-dqoju0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343488/original/file-20200623-188900-dqoju0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343488/original/file-20200623-188900-dqoju0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343488/original/file-20200623-188900-dqoju0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343488/original/file-20200623-188900-dqoju0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343488/original/file-20200623-188900-dqoju0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Use plants, hedges and fences to create your own peaceful hideaway.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">pexels</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In fact, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273366914_Tranquillity_and_soundscapes_in_urban_green_spaces-predicted_and_actual_assessments_from_a_questionnaire_survey">research on tranquility has shown</a> that the rated tranquillity of a place depends on both the percentage of natural features – such as greenery, rock, sand and water – in view and the level of man-made noise. </p>
<p>This means there is a trade-off in the sense that if you cannot control the noise, the perceived tranquillity improves if the amount of greenery or water in view increases. This is worth bearing in mind when creating a tranquil garden space.</p>
<h2>Finding tranquillity indoors</h2>
<p>Inside the home, some of the same principles apply. Reduce sources of noise by installing double glazing to windows and doors and add a thicker insulation layer in the loft to control aircraft noise.</p>
<p>If it proves difficult to control noise in the bedroom then think about changing rooms so that you sleep on the non-traffic side of the house. Another thought is to include pictures of nature as wall art – the bigger the better – as <a href="https://core.ac.uk/display/76945458?source=2">research has shown</a> that installing pictures of nature scenes on the walls, as well as playing relaxing sea sounds as background music, can significantly improve people’s experiences of tranquillity and anxiety in a doctor’s waiting room.</p>
<p>Many of us have enjoyed listening to the birds more often with the reduced traffic levels of lockdown. It would be nice to think the “new normal” would include some of these gains. Hopefully people will realise that many of the journeys they make by car are not strictly necessary. And it’s important not to forget that nature is around us all the time – if only we just take a moment to stop and listen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140208/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Greg Watts is affiliated with University of Bradford. </span></em></p>Whether it’s cars passing nearby, a neighbour’s blaring music or the constant drone of a lawnmower, the trouble with sound is that – unlike light – it can be hard to block out completely.Greg Watts, Professor of environmental acoustics, University of BradfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1385162020-06-28T20:10:05Z2020-06-28T20:10:05ZIn praise of the office: let’s learn from COVID-19 and make the traditional workplace better<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343869/original/file-20200624-132955-2rix55.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C0%2C7337%2C4912&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Having had to rapidly adjust to working from home due to COVID-19, many people are now having to readjust to life back in the office. Many will have enjoyed aspects of what is sometimes called “distributed work”, but some may be dreading the return. </p>
<p>So is there a middle ground? Could hybrid work arrangements, known for boosting well-being and productivity, be a more common feature of workplaces in the future?</p>
<p>We say yes. Organisations need to recognise the valuable habits and skills employees have developed to work effectively from home during the lockdown. But they will need good strategies for easing the transition back into the physical workplace. </p>
<p>In doing so, they should aim for the best of both worlds — the flexibility of distributed work and the known benefits of the collaborative workplace.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-death-of-the-open-plan-office-not-quite-but-a-revolution-is-in-the-air-140724">The death of the open-plan office? Not quite, but a revolution is in the air</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Good riddance to hot-desking</h2>
<p>A good start would be a proper re-evaluation the two worst aspects of office life: crowded open-plan designs and so-called “hot-desking”. </p>
<p>Cramped shared offices and free-for-all hot-desking are both known for their negative impacts on quality of workplace life. The results are often interpersonal conflict, reduced productivity and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00140139.2013.871064?casa_token=unvpxgFLhAoAAAAA%3AlA8XgmDqRNfm9uk4rlxXD7idNBPeQ56HjZfDxOQy7IKBVubHBgxN-PIYXxHYkbl8C81Hg721X_AAXYM&">higher rates of sickness</a>.</p>
<p>Some organisations have already done away with hot-desking in an effort to improve <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/hot-desking-is-dead-why-workers-can-refuse-to-return-to-the-office-20200515-p54thr.html">physical and mental well-being</a>. Acknowledging the evidence that tightly packed, cost-saving, open-plan office arrangements have not delivered what was promised should be another priority. </p>
<p>Hopefully, the impact of COVID-19 on business as usual will spell the end of these often poorly thought through management fads.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343866/original/file-20200624-132972-6sfjhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343866/original/file-20200624-132972-6sfjhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343866/original/file-20200624-132972-6sfjhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343866/original/file-20200624-132972-6sfjhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343866/original/file-20200624-132972-6sfjhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343866/original/file-20200624-132972-6sfjhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343866/original/file-20200624-132972-6sfjhj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Work-life imbalance: how do companies help their employees and also boost productivity?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Working from home can be isolating</h2>
<p>At the same time, there is no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. The office still has its advantages, and there is research showing that working from home has clear disadvantages for employees and organisations when it is offered as a permanent arrangement.</p>
<p><a href="https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/amd.2014.0016">One study</a> involved a large (anonymous) US Fortune 100 technology firm. It began as a traditional survey of what it was like for individuals to work from home, but evolved into a study of the effect of what happened to the company’s community when working from home was normalised. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-research-on-hot-desking-and-activity-based-work-isnt-so-positive-75612">The research on hot-desking and activity-based work isn't so positive</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The option of unrestricted distributed work meant employees simply stopped coming to work at the office. Many reported the well-known benefits of working from home, such as work-life balance and productivity. </p>
<p>They also reported a kind of “contagion effect”. As colleagues began to stay at home a tipping point arrived where fewer and fewer people opted to work in the office. </p>
<p>But this actually increased a sense of isolation among employees. It also meant the loss of opportunities to collaborate through informal or unplanned meetings. The chance to solve problems or be given challenging assignments were lost as well. </p>
<p>Those who participated in the study said social contact and productively interacting with colleagues was the main reason they wanted to come to work. Without it there was no real point. The research raises the possibility of a net loss in well-being if everyone were to work remotely. </p>
<p>Well-being and job satisfaction depend on a <a href="https://www.oxfordhandbooks.com/view/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199211913.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780199211913-e-004">range of factors</a>, including having clear goals, social contact and the structure of the traditional working day. Of course, jobs can also be toxic if there is too much structure. But fully distributed work may not provide the support, identity and community that offices provide for some. </p>
<p>Nor is technology always adequate when it comes to the subtle value of face-to-face catch ups. Five minute water-cooler talks and post-meeting debriefs still matter for both productivity, social contact and cohesion. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343867/original/file-20200624-132951-8e3h7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343867/original/file-20200624-132951-8e3h7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343867/original/file-20200624-132951-8e3h7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343867/original/file-20200624-132951-8e3h7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343867/original/file-20200624-132951-8e3h7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343867/original/file-20200624-132951-8e3h7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343867/original/file-20200624-132951-8e3h7t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A different kind of management: motivating and maintaining morale in a distributed workplace requires new skills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Management has to adapt too</h2>
<p>None of which is to suggest there are not identifiable advantages of distributed work and the flexible workplace. As many of us discovered during the lockdown, just avoiding the daily commute helped with lowering stress and better work-life balance. Choosing <em>when</em> we worked was attractive too.</p>
<p>But this requires better management skills. Distributed workers require different (often better) engagement strategies, including the ability to build mutual trust. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/working-from-home-what-are-your-employers-responsibilities-and-what-are-yours-133922">Working from home: what are your employer's responsibilities, and what are yours?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Research into how best to manage the health and safety of distributed workers has found that some leaders simply <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02678373.2017.1390797">can’t adapt</a> to the digital environment. Trust, consideration and communicating a clear vision or sense of purpose matter more for distributed workers than for those in the traditional office. </p>
<p>Recognition, reward, development and advancement in a distributed working environment will all need special attention. So too will ways to deal with people not pulling their weight, maybe because of too much time on social media. </p>
<p>Even the simple benefits of <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0020852316681446">spontaneous humour</a> in meetings or informal team interactions are easily lost with “e-leadership”, so new ways of building and maintaining morale are vital. </p>
<p>This is not an either/or question. Rather, the challenge is to strike a new balance — how to retain the benefits of distributed work while maintaining the sense of community that comes from personal interaction in the office.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138516/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diep Nguyen receives funding from the Centre for Work Health and Safety (New South Wales Government) and Western Australia Government COVID-19 Research Funding.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Esme Franken currently receives funding from Australian Medical Association, Western Australia Government, and BHP. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Teo receives funding from the following bodies: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Western Australia Government COVID-19 Research Funding, the Institute of Public Administration Australia, and the Department of Police, Fire and Emergency Management (Tasmania). He is affiliated with the following professional associations: Australian Human Resources Institute (Fellow), Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (Chartered Fellow), Royal Society of Arts, and the USA Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Associate).
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Geoff Plimmer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Working from home during lockdown reminded many of us of the benefits of office life. With a bit of imagination we could have the best of both worlds.Geoff Plimmer, Senior lecturer in Human Resource Management, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonDiep Nguyen, Lecturer, Edith Cowan UniversityEsme Franken, Lecturer in Management, Edith Cowan UniversityStephen Teo, Professor of Work and Performance, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1402372020-06-25T21:31:05Z2020-06-25T21:31:05ZTime, family, work – and bored zombies. New Zealanders open up about life in coronavirus lockdown<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343657/original/file-20200624-56963-5iwr38.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=33%2C0%2C5577%2C3735&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We all remember the lockdown, but not all our memories are the same. Some say they miss the tranquillity. Others don’t miss being stuck at home at all – especially those with young children. Some found new ways of working. Others just lost work.</p>
<p>New Zealand’s lockdown was <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/covid-stringency-index?tab=chart&country=%7ENZL">ranked</a> as one of the strictest in the world, and we wanted to find out how people felt about it. So we ran a “<a href="https://www.wgtn.ac.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0010/1865512/WP-20-03-covid-19-life-in-lockdown.pdf">life under lockdown</a>” survey in the third week of alert level 4 to examine general well-being, family resilience and employment. </p>
<p>We also asked people an optional question: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about your experiences of lockdown, positive or negative?</p>
<p>Of the 2002 people surveyed, 894 (45%) gave a usable response. In survey terms, this was a surprisingly good result, and provided a rich historical record of the thoughts of many ordinary New Zealanders during lockdown. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343651/original/file-20200624-56949-cp0kax.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/343651/original/file-20200624-56949-cp0kax.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343651/original/file-20200624-56949-cp0kax.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343651/original/file-20200624-56949-cp0kax.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=515&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343651/original/file-20200624-56949-cp0kax.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=648&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343651/original/file-20200624-56949-cp0kax.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=648&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/343651/original/file-20200624-56949-cp0kax.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=648&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Time and quality of life</h2>
<p>Overall, there were more positive responses (43%) than negative (35%), with 23% neutral or mixed. We mapped the most commonly used significant words, as shown in the word cloud above and the graphs below – and “time” was the most frequently used word, often in relation to family. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s been a good way to focus on what’s important in my life. Personally for me it’s been a good time […] to connect with my two year old and enjoy having time with my husband and parents. On the flip side it’s highlighted what I’ve missed due to working.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For some lockdown was a chance for growth; for others, like these three people, it was a novelty:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Have enjoyed the time off to renew myself.</p>
<p>I’ve enjoyed a holiday from work as I have never had longer than a week off. Could never afford it. </p>
<p>Home life has not posed any stress in our bubble during lockdown, we have found many things to keep busy and are enjoying our time together. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Others, such as these four, expressed mixed or negative emotions: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I quite enjoy working from home (warm, comfortable, quiet) but I am lucky that I can work from home. It does get lonely though but I manage it.</p>
<p>Lots of productive time wasted. </p>
<p>Very bored a lot of the time.</p>
<p>It sux big time.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-an-architect-on-how-the-pandemic-could-change-our-homes-forever-138649">Coronavirus: an architect on how the pandemic could change our homes forever</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Work and worry</h2>
<p>As expected, employment and money worries came up often. Many people, like these individuals, reported losing jobs or general concern about income:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m just worried/depressed that I won’t have a job and be able to help out my family with finances. That’s what’s making me feel worthless because I got laid off. It’s not fair that I’m the youngest and I can’t help out.</p>
<p>The most distressing and stressful thing has been dealing with my job and disputes re hours and pay. It has basically been the whole cause of my angst during lockdown.</p>
<p>Zero income in house. Frustration applying for support on internet. We give up. WINZ [Work and Income NZ] suck. Really suck. It feels like their working life based on trying to find a reason to decline supporting people has left them as the worst place for the public to need to go to for support.</p>
<p>I cry all the time. I’m worried about money and the long term effects of this situation on our household and our finances. I am hanging on by a thread.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><iframe id="l1Izq" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/l1Izq/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Separation and grief</h2>
<p>And for some it was the hardest time of all:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I felt really bad not being able to take flowers to the cemetery on the anniversary of my husband’s death.</p>
<p>Very sad because I can’t visit my kids’ grandkids or elderly mother plus a close friend who’s dying of cancer. All are about five hours’ drive away. I get upset at times and cry a lot.</p>
<p>My husband passed away […] I need my kids and family here, but they live out of town, it’s going to be a while and that’s so, so sad.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-zealands-pandemic-budget-is-all-about-saving-and-creating-jobs-now-the-hard-work-begins-138523">New Zealand's pandemic budget is all about saving and creating jobs. Now the hard work begins</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Family, home and school</h2>
<p>Not surprisingly, “family” and “home” (and related terms) were mentioned a lot. While the majority of family references were positive, for some – like these two – lockdown was a challenge, if not the last straw: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>After lockdown my partner and I will separate!!! Being in lockdown emphasised the difficulties with our relationship. Nonetheless I think that the lockdown was important and necessary and that it saved many NZ lives.</p>
<p>Men that are home on full pay while wife works thinking, yeah it’s holiday time, sleep when they want, do bugger all round home to catch up, drink when should be doing chores that needed doing, not considering […] oh I should cook, give partner that’s working a break – plain annoying.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Many reported struggling with children and home schooling while working from home:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Definitely finding it hard to help three kids, all at different levels, complete their school work, especially with a toddler running around.</p>
<p>It’s so difficult trying to manage schooling for the kids while also making time to work from home. Very stressful.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Bubbles and zombies</h2>
<p>And finally, some people just wanted to get things off their chests:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Stop using that bloody word “bubble”. God I hate that word to describe home. Hang whoever decided to use it. </p>
<p>This is the closest I’m ever going to get to a zombie apocalypse, and it’s all just so boring. This is not at all what I was expecting. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Zombies or not, people were more positive than we’d expected. Their answers tell us about human resilience, humour, hardship and tragedy. While everyone’s lockdown was unique, we also shared many experiences. We want to thank everyone who shared theirs with us.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/140237/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Resilience, humour, hardship and tragedy – a unique survey reveals how ordinary New Zealanders coped during one of the world’s strictest COVID-19 lockdowns.Simon Chapple, Director, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonKate C. Prickett, Director of the Roy McKenzie Centre for the Study of Families and Children, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonMichael Fletcher, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for Governance and Policy Studies, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.