The Role of Incidental Objects in ‘Making Things Work’: An Example from Assisted Living Facilities for Young Adults
Peer reviewed, Journal article
Published version
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https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3110029Utgivelsesdato
2023Metadata
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Originalversjon
Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research. 2023, 25 (1), 350-362. 10.16993/sjdr.953Sammendrag
This article studies material practices in assisted living facilities (ALF) for young adults,
building on empirical data from fieldwork and on analytical resources from the
research field of science and technology studies (STS). For the analysis, we made use
of the notions of ‘fit’ and ‘misfit’ to zoom in on and illuminate the complexity of service
provision at ALFs and of the materialities involved. The article mainly focuses on trivial
and easily overlooked objects, which we name ‘incidental objects’, and how these
are mobilized in order to ‘make things work’ in the intersection of residents, carers,
and their material surroundings in everyday life. Our analysis revealed that incidental
objects are key components in the process of handling situations involving misfits,
and hence in enabling participation, flexibility, and agility in everyday life. Moreover, it
unveiled that the incidental objects have important common characteristics.