Expressivity within a time schedule: subordinated interaction on geriatric wards

Abstract

Abstract Field research for the current study took place at two Swedish medical institutions specialising in the long‐term care of the elderly. The data consist of taped interviews and observations. On the wards studied, both staff and patients were subordinated to a fixed element in the schedule: the mealtime system. This given frame was non‐negotiable. Instead, each of the two parties tried to emphasise its own particular side of the scheme. In the analysis, Zerubavel's ideas about social calendars as stimulators for collective actions are combined with Georg Simmers thoughts on the effects of subordination under a principle. Copyright © 1991, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved