This article documents a cultural script of ‘non-materialistic parental investment’ in a private kindergarten in Israel, and the paradoxes that accompany it. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, the ...analysis reveals an inherent tension between an anti-materialistic ideology and the immersion of the kindergarten in a hyper-consumerist culture. While the explicit discourse emphasizes simplicity and unmediated emotional nurturing, the kindergarten in effect comprises an arena of intense elite consumerism of upper-middle-class parents who wish to give their children high-quality, expensive education. As a prestigious private business, it, therefore, plays a direct role in class differentiation processes, although ‘social-class’ is not part of the conscious pedagogical agenda.
The artist openly revealed their houseless status, which began in 2020 and coincided with the most severe phase of the pandemic; they also chose as their performance site tourist-saturated Hollywood ...Boulevard, on the sidewalk in front of LACE’s temporarily closed storefront gallery. Because its exhibition space was closed for renovations, LACE offered Nguyen a six-month artistic “un-residency,” culminating in a weekend program of Nguyen’s installation performance, in which they would interact with audience members—and curious passersby—through what LACE’s press release described as “a tea ceremony where visitors can join the artist for a conversation about the objects in the installation and their experience as an unhoused artist.” A table, neatly stacked with a hot water container, plates of cookies, tea bags, and paper cups, stood on one side; the other side was a blue tent, with its flaps open to reveal a clean and largely empty interior. Yet, in Hobollywood, the politics of art manifests its power not so much in its activist demands but in the subdued poignancy of an artist exposing their existential precarity while persisting in seeking meaning out of mundane interpersonal exchanges.
So far, most ethical consumerism research has been contained within Western countries, thus limiting our understanding of the concept in emerging markets. Given the call for extending empirical-based ...knowledge for a better understanding of peculiarities, dynamics and country-level variations (i.e. social, cultural) in the context of ethical consumerism in emerging markets, this research cross-examines the interactive nature of individual- and country-level predictors of ethical consumerism in emerging and developed markets, employing a multilevel approach. At the individual level, we posit that ethical consumerism is motivated by social and cultural capital. In contrast, at the contextual level, we choose country-level affluence as an influential factor that might impact the relationship between socio-cultural capital and ethical consumerism. The study uses the International Social Survey Programme’s (ISSP) 2014 citizenship module data set (including 34 countries) for investigating individual-level predictors (of social and cultural capital). The GDP per capita data from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Economic Outlook database was used to examine the cross-level interactions between individual-level predictors and country-level affluence. The findings suggest that social and cultural capitals positively influence ethical consumerism in emerging and developed markets. Further, country-level affluence moderates the relationship between socio-cultural capital and ethical consumerism for both markets. However, cultural capital proved to be a stronger predictor of ethical consumerism as country-level affluence increases. The research findings highlight meaningful cross-country-level interactions that help further understand the basis of ethical consumerism from a global perspective.
The rapid economic growth and surge of consumerism in emerging markets have placed significant pressure on the environment and consumers. While well-researched ethical consumption remedies may be ...effective in the Western contexts, they may not be readily translatable in emerging markets due to institutional and socio-cultural differences. This research examines the popular practice of Danshari in China and investigates how this self-oriented practice leads to other-oriented ethical consumption behaviours. Using qualitative data gathered from online sharing and interviews, we unpack how Danshari practitioners question and reshape their relationship with possessions and consumption to enhance their self-concept clarity. This clarified and elevated self-concept, in turn, leads to ethical consumption behaviours. Unlike Western ethical consumption concepts that are driven by principles or ideologies, Danshari’s essence of detachment, self-orientation, and action focus resonate with traditional Chinese teachings, providing a pragmatist approach to cultivating ethical consumption behaviours in China. This research adds to the growing body of pragmatism-based ethics research, expands the discussion of the link between consumption and the self, and offers valuable insights into promoting ethical consumerism in emerging markets.
Current calls for deep societal transformation stress the need to go beyond green consumption and aim for the reduction of material consumption. Such a shift is enacted by grassroots initiatives ...around reuse, repair and sharing. However, the possibility of postconsumerist perspectives and practices to reach a broader audience is affected by discursive opportunity structures (DOS) formed in public debate. To understand the DOS it is relevant to pay attention both to the continuous normalisation of consumption and to the ways in which alternatives are represented. To develop new analytical tools for examining what postconsumerist initiatives are up against, we introduce the concept of banal consumerism: mundane, habitual expressions that reproduce consumer culture. Through an empirical study of Swedish daily newspapers, we construct the basis for a typology of different expressions of banal consumerism. We find several expressions, of which the massive advertising of consumer goods is the most common but editorial material also plays an important role. This largely disabling DOS is then put in relation to the potentially enabling opportunities entailed in the existing media coverage of postconsumerist initiatives, practices and perspectives. The results show that postconsumerist initiatives and practices are newsworthy and presented as commendable. The fact that high levels of material consumption negatively impact the environment and life on the planet is widely accepted. To argue for degrowth or criticise consumerism is, however, controversial. Thus, support for postconsumerist practices coexist with massive expressions of banal consumerism, creating a complex set of DOS for the postconsumerist initiatives to navigate.
Political consumerism refers to citizens’ use of boycotting and buycotting as they seek to influence political outcomes within the marketplace rather than through more traditional routes such as ...voting. However, given the pressure that neoliberalist forces exert on the marketplace, the lack of literature problematising the relationship between political consumerism and neoliberalism is somewhat surprising. Addressing this gap, we examine how neoliberalism impacts youth political consumerism in the UK and Greece. Focus-group findings suggest the existence of two inter-connected effects. Firstly, we detect a neoliberal ‘push effect’ away from electoral politics. Secondly, we discern a parallel ‘pull effect’ as young people seek the ‘political’ within the marketplace. In Greece, youth political consumerism seems to result primarily from distrust of institutional political actors. In contrast, young political consumers in the UK appear to be principally driven by confidence in the capacity of the market to respond to their pressing needs.
The Role of Consumerism in Pharmacy Education Bowers, Riley; Stover, Kayla R.; Strachan, Dana A. ...
American journal of pharmaceutical education,
06/2024, Letnik:
88, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The notion of consumerism and that students are customers of pharmacy colleges was explored by proponents and opponents of the idea. First, a working definition of a “customer” in pharmacy education ...is pondered with respect to the roles and responsibilities of students and schools/colleges of pharmacy. Second, the pros and cons of “student-centered” education are considered in the light of students and their families being consumers of the educational experience. Third, the duality of student-centered education is discussed including student engagement/disengagement in their learning, professional/unprofessional behaviors, and shared/individual responsibilities. Lastly, learning and teaching environment dynamics are discerned when higher education becomes more student-centric and how that may affect the overall outcome of the student and the goals of pharmacy educational programs.
Political consumerism is currently one of the most prevalent forms of non-institutionalized political engagement in Western democracies. This article aims to understand its psychological roots. We ...expect interindividual differences in psychological dispositions to be particularly relevant for political consumerism due to the individualized and cause-oriented nature of this form of political action. Our empirical evidence supports this claim: Open people favour, and conscientious people avoid, boycotting and buycotting. Agreeable persons tend to avoid boycotting in particular. These relationships persist even when political and social attitudes are controlled for. Thus, we show that psychological factors play an important role in shaping politically conscious consumption behaviour. At the same time, our study points out that personality profiles vary across different forms of political consumerism and modes of political action more generally. The characteristics of the diverse modes may help to understand this variation.
Since Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA) first published its position statement on exercise guidelines for people with cancer, there has been exponential growth in research evaluating the ...role of exercise pre-, during and post-cancer treatment.
The purpose of this report is to use the current scientific evidence, alongside clinical experience and exercise science principles to update ESSA’s position statement on cancer-specific exercise prescription.
Reported in this position statement is a summary of the benefits accrued through exercise following a cancer diagnosis and the strengths and limitations of this evidence-base. An exercise prescription framework is then proposed to enable the application of cancer-specific considerations for individualisation, specificity, safety, feasibility and progression of exercise for all patients. Additional specific exercise prescription considerations are provided for the presence of haematological, musculoskeletal, systemic, cardiovascular, lymphatic, gastrointestinal, genitourinary and neurological disease- and treatment-related concerns, as well as presence of co-morbid chronic disease. Further, we also identify and discuss cancer-specific pragmatic issues and barriers requiring consideration for exercise prescription.
While for the majority, multimodal, moderate to high intensity exercise will be appropriate, there is no set prescription and total weekly dosage that would be considered evidence-based for all cancer patients. Targeted exercise prescription, which includes the provision of behaviour change advice and support, is needed to ensure greatest benefit (as defined by the patient) in the short and longer term, with low risk of harm.
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