Graham Rowles is Professor in the Graduate Centre for Gerontology with joint appointments in Nursing, Behavioural Science, Geography and Health Behaviour. His research, in the field of environmental gerontology, focuses on the lived experience of aging in different contexts. A central theme of this work is exploration, employing qualitative methodologies, of the changing relationship between elders and their environments with advancing age and the implications of these relationships for health and wellbeing. He has conducted in-depth ethnographic research with elderly populations in urban (inner city), rural (Appalachian), and nursing facility environments. Current research includes leadership of the Kentucky Elder Readiness Initiative (KERI), a statewide project to explore the implications for communities of the aging of the Baby Boom cohort. His publications include Prisoners of Space? and five co-edited volumes, Aging and Milieu, Qualitative Gerontology, Long-Term Care for the Rural Elderly, Qualitative Gerontology: A Contemporary Perspective, and Home and Identity in Late Life in addition to more than 60 book chapters and articles. He is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education and serves on the editorial boards of The Journal of Applied Gerontology and the Journal of Housing for the Elderly. Professor Rowles is President–Elect of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.

This lecture is part of the Changing Age programme of events, for more information about the campaign please visit www.ncl.ac.uk/about/changingage.