Walking as a social practice

Dispersed Walking and the Organisation of Everyday Practices

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2249108
AutoresTim Harries (0000-0002-9740-3425, Kingston Business School Kingston University London UK, autor de correspondencia), Ruth Rettie (0000-0002-2799-5947, Kingston Business School Kingston University London UK)
Año2016
Volumen38
Número6
Páginas874-883
Fecha de publicación2016-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociology of Health & Illness (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0141-9889 • E-ISSN: 1467-9566
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-9566.12406
PMID26853086
OpenAlexW2269682442
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas23
Referencias citadas35

This paper uses social practice theory to study the interweaving of walking into everyday practices and considers how greater awareness of everyday walking can influence its position within the organisation and scheduling of everyday life. Walking is of policy interest because of its perceived benefits for health. This paper asserts that increased awareness of everyday walking allows users to become more active without having to reschedule existing activities. Using Schatzki's distinction between dispersed and integrative practices, it argues that increasing awareness of dispersed walking can enlist walking into the teleoaffective organisation of some social practices and prompt the performance of new 'health practices' within everyday domains of life such as shopping and employment. While this analysis offers useful insights for the design of behaviour change strategies, it also points to some unintended consequences of using digital feedback to increase walking awareness. In directing the gaze of participants at one particular element of their daily practices, the paper suggests, digital walking feedback provides a 'partial' view of practices: by highlighting the exercise value of walking at the expense of other values it can prompt feedback recipients to pass moral judgements on themselves based on this partial view.A Virtual Abstract of this paper can be found at: https://youtu.be/WV7DUnKD5Mw

Everyday life · Gaze · Political science · Public relations · Social practice · Social science · Social worlds · Sociology · Unintended consequences · Applied Psychology · Diversity and Impact of Dance · Law · Management and Organizational Studies · Obesity and Health Practices · Psychology · Social Psychology