Epistemological erasure: The subject of abuse in the problematization of 'elder abuse'.

The academic field of literature pertaining to elder abuse emerges largely from gerontology with contributions from a variety of disciplines including geriatric medicine, nursing, public health, law, psychology, sociology and social work. This paper presents a critical review of articles drawn from this literature to identify current directions leading the development of empirical research in this field. The objective measurement of prevalence, the identification and correlation of psycho-social risk factors and practice-based research oriented to intervention and prevention are identified as privileged sites for scientific investigation. These sites are critically analysed in terms of their underpinning rationalities to reveal the operation of a hegemonic post-positivist epistemological framework. This framework enables an expert professional discourse to structure knowledge and the field of inquiry through constructions of the 'subject of abuse' as a statistical figure, a factorial subject of risk and universally vulnerable. These modes of representation preclude subjective lived experience and, in doing so, inaugurate an 'epistemological erasure' of the embodied subject of abuse. The review attends to the limited body of qualitative research in the field, some of which claims a politicized empiricism of 'voice'. However, whilst the findings produced by this research suggest theoretically and conceptually fertile lines of inquiry, these have not disrupted or extended the dominant discourses in the field. This paper argues that an epistemological gulf, riven through a politics of evidence, ensures the reproduction of dominant discourses and their attendant limitations in ways that forestall the conceptual and theoretical advancement of the field.

Designing 'older' rather than denying ageing: problematizing anti-ageing discourse in relation to cosmetic surgery undertaken by older people.

This paper problematizes anti-ageing discourse and interpretations that cosmetic surgery is an ageist practice and older people who undergo cosmetic surgery are denying ageing. It argues that conceptions of cosmetic surgery as anti-ageing are premised on an essentialist conception of the 'naturally ageing body'. Interview data and media texts are used to demonstrate how, through the notion of "re" suggested by terms such as rejuvenation, reversal and renewal, anti-ageing discourses inscribe 'ageing' in the practice of cosmetic surgery by older people. The oppressive interpretation that older people who undergo cosmetic surgery are 'denying ageing,' and associated subjection to moral critique, are effects of this discourse. To counter interpretations of cosmetic surgery as 'anti-ageing', the paper takes up the idea that cosmetic surgery is undertaken to look better not younger. To advance this argument, the paper suggests that the forms of rationality associated with cosmetic surgery constitute a contemporary regimen of 'care of the self' which enable ethical agency and creative self-stylisation. Through this framework cosmetic surgery can be re-imagined as a practice for designing 'older' rather than denying ageing.

The research/practice nexus: underlying assumptions about the nature of research uptake into practice in literature pertaining to care of the older person.

Much has been written about the link between practice and research in the nursing and health literature. The literature from fields of practice relating to care of the older person is no exception. Enhancing best practice to effectively meet the needs and desires of older people, and provide an optimal working environment for those providing that care, requires sustainable synergies between research and practice. However, the perception of a gap(s) between 'what we know' and 'what we do' persists in the writing in relation to the care of older people, as it does in healthcare more broadly. Rather than attempting to provide an exhaustive descriptive review of the literature, this paper reports on, and provides an analysis of, two broad thematic areas that are reflected in much of the writing about research and practice relevant to the care of older people. The first thematic area relates to literature that presupposes a linear/passive view of research uptake. The second thematic area includes literature that conceptualizes research uptake as dynamic/active. The discussion focuses on what these thematic areas can tell us about enhancing and optimizing synergies and connections between research and practice relating to care of the older person.

What's in a number? Issues in providing evidence of impact and quality of research(ers).

One of the challenges facing qualitative researchers in a climate in which audit culture has permeated many facets of the institutions in which they research is how to establish the impact and quality of their research. When examining track records, granting institutions place significant emphasis on publication performance. Although the quality and impact of publications have traditionally been assessed by peer review, there is currently a global trend toward the development, refinement, and increased use of quantitative metrics, particularly citation analysis and journal impact factor. In this article, the authors share their experience of using the metrics citation analysis and journal impact factor in the preparation of an application for funding. Their aim is twofold: to raise awareness about potential issues in the practical application of these metrics; and to offer critique about and, they hope, "quality" to the writing and rhetoric concerning how to measure publication impact and quality.