One Wedding, Two Cultures, Four Outfits: The Phenomenological Exploration of Fashion and Textiles

Textiles can evoke an emotional response that is induced by the smell, texture, memory, and embodied experiences that are released through wearing, touching, and talking about textiles. The textile artifact is our most universal designed object, with the capacity for us to experience it simultaneously with all our senses and emotions. The personal textile archive is a term created for this study to describe textiles that have been taken out of practical use, and have been informally, yet purposefully, gathered together. Textile artifacts within the personal textile archive function as both a treasury of personal, social, and family memories, and as a treasury of design details. A series of interviews were conducted in which participants were asked to discuss their own personal textile archives, in order to uncover the embodied experience that arises through interactions with these sentimental textiles. This rich experience of textiles was explored through the use of qualitative research methods developed from a phenomenological research methodology, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Through a case study in which a couple of English and Punjabi heritage describe their wedding outfits, interviews set and analyzed within a phenomenological paradigm demonstrate this method's facility to explore the interplay between design and experience

Comfort in clothing: a Baumanian critique of how clothing contributes to the well-being of women in the United Kingdom.

This Comfort in Clothing study explores how fashion, clothing and dress practices contribute to the psychosocial well-being of women in the UK. Fashion is a global industry, fuelled in recent times by the growth of the athleisurewear sector, reflecting the postmodern preoccupation with comfort, leisure and well-being in Western societies. Well-being is identified as important to the individual and on a wider societal level, with rising mental health issues identified as a global health concern and well-being statistics reported by numerous developed economies. Bauman, a prominent sociologist, acknowledged the anxieties of the postmodern actor in his concept of Liquid Modernity, attributing them to the fast pace of change and overwhelming freedom of choice, factors inherent in today's fashion industry. Thus, this study makes an original contribution to theoretical knowledge by applying Bauman's concept of Liquid Modernity to the phenomenon of well-being in relation to clothing artefacts, fashion and dress practice. Literature related to comfort in clothing, well-being, positive psychology and identity was reviewed. Research exists in terms of physical and physiological comfort in clothing, however a gap was identified in terms of the psychological comfort gained from the everyday use of non-elite fashion and clothing. The key elements of well-being were identified as community, work, time, the body, place, individuality, emancipation, income, colour and confidence, with these being mapped to the research focus of fashion, clothing and dress practice. The concepts of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being and positive psychology were also explored. Examination of existing fashion research revealed the applicability of an interpretive world-view and multi-modal qualitative methodology. Qualitative data was gathered in the form of innovative, participant-produced image/narrative elicitations from a key informant sample. In addition, focus groups were conducted with an expanded sample. All participants were females currently living in the UK, who were mostly interested or very interested in fashion. Triangulation of the resultant multiple data types was employed during the analysis stage. The value of this Comfort in Clothing study lies in the contribution to knowledge of everyday dress practices in the postmodern era, and how those lived experiences and autobiographical memories of dress impact the psychosocial well-being of the participants. The key findings confirm that female appearance management remains firmly focused on the body and controlled by the fear of judgement, both self-judgement and the judgement of others. Hedonic well-being, gained from presenting oneself properly in public and feeling good through looking good was prevalent. Bauman's definition of the individualistic person was found to dress as a community-minded citizen, seeking the solidity of normative, ritualised dress practices and rejecting fashion's fast-paced and perpetual change. This suggests a disconnect between the fashion industry as a driver of creative destruction and constant consumption, and the clothing consumer's need for the safety and solidity of routine and the known. A hierarchy of attachment emerged, which found clothing to be under-valued, suggesting an opportunity for increased eudaimonic well-being through adoption of clothing with longevity, enabling meaning and memory to accrue and ultimately, to provide comfort in Liquid Modernity

Application of the vignette technique in a qualitative paradigm

Vignettes are short depictions of typical scenarios intended to elicit responses that will reveal values, perceptions, impressions, and accepted social norms. This article describes how vignettes were developed and used in a qualitative linguistics anthropology study to elicit those responses as experienced by mixed-heritage individuals in attaining heritage legitimacy despite their inability to speak their heritage languages. The vignettes were administered during in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Eight participants were asked to reflect and respond to prompts which revolved around typical experiences where speakers were limited by their lack of heritage language proficiency. Based on the vignettes, the participants described how the speakers would linguistically strategize to compensate their limited abilities in using the heritage languages. At the same time, the cultural means through which speakers gain legitimacy within their own heritage groups were also identified. Essentially the use of the vignettes facilitated in generating data that would have otherwise been challenging to elicit given the culturally sensitive as well as highly private nature of the phenomena under investigation. The application of vignettes provided a less intrusive and non-threatening way of obtaining perceptions, opinions, beliefs and attitudes based on responses or comments to stories depicting lived experiences of the participants that the researcher is otherwise not privy to as an observer. However, application of this data elicitation technique can prove challenging for the researcher. A critical analysis of the development, implementation and validity of vignettes as a research tool is extrapolated here within the setting of a heritage legitimacy study as an exemplar

“From caged birds to women with wings”: A perspective on consumption practices of new middle-class Indian women

Purpose – This study aims to explore consumption practices of new middle-class Indian women to explicate how they are challenging traditional social norms and redefining their identity through their consumption practices.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 32 semi-structured and photo-elicitation interviews were conducted with new middle-class women between the age group of 23 and 40 years in India.Findings – This study illustrates how the doing of consumption practices that involve creating, controlling, knowing and transforming is enabling new middle-class Indian women to undo gender disparities embedded in hegemonic patriarchal social order. Also, the study provides new insights into how class and symbolic capital intersect gender to redefine middle-class women’s feminine self.Research limitations/implications – This study specifically illustrates how new middle-class women are using consumption practices to uplift their position in household; bring about new modes of social interface; and identity expression and a reversal in gender roles.Practical implications – The conflation of women’s independence with consumerism underlines the need for marketers to position consumer goods in a manner that strengthens women’s self and alleviates cultural perceptions of women as subordinate to men in the household. Indian market has considerable growth potential for publicly visible brands that affirm the elevated social status of women and allow them to effectively demonstrate their capital resources.Originality/value – An under-researched consumer segment is explored by focusing particularly on the intersection of discourses of women’s individuality with that of their consumption practices. Additionally, pioneering use of photo-elicitation technique coupled with hermeneutic approach enabled to elicit effectively women’s reflections on their behaviours, values and motivations underlying their consumption practices

Evidentiality in Lamjung Yolmo

Lamjung Yolmo is a Tibeto-Burman language of the Bodish branch spoken in Nepal. Like related languages it has a verbal system that includes evidential distinctions. In this paper I look at the role of these evidentials in interaction, and in relation to other features of grammar. These features include their relationship to events, interaction with subject person, endopathic verbs and negative polarity. I also look at constructions with no overt evidential marking, and evidential elision, to give a more rounded representation of the role of evidentiality for speakers of Lamjung Yolmo, and explore its role in audience perception of utterances.Copyright Information: Copyright vested in the author; released under Creative Commons Attribution Licenc

Information Systems for Supporting Fire Emergency Response

Despite recent work on information systems, many first responders in emergency situations are unable to develop sufficient understanding of the situation to enable them to make good decisions. The record of the UK Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) has been particularly poor in terms of providing the information systems support to the fire fighters decision-making during their work. There is very little work on identifying the specific information needs of different types of fire fighters. Consequently, this study has two main aims. The first is to identify the information requirements of several specific members of the FRS hierarchy that lead to better Situation Awareness. The second is to identify how such information should be presented. This study was based on extensive data collected in the FRS brigades of three counties and focused on large buildings having a high-risk of fire and four key fire fighter job roles: Incident Commander, Sector Commander, Breathing Apparatus Entry Control Officer and Breathing Apparatus Wearers. The requirements elicitation process was guided by a Cognitive Task Analysis (CTA) tool: Goal Directed Information Analysis (GDIA), which was developed specifically for this study. Initially appropriate scenarios were developed. Based on the scenarios, 44 semi-structured interviews were carried out in three different elicitation phases with both novice and experienced fire fighters. Together with field observations of fire simulation and training exercises, fire and rescue related documentation; a comprehensive set of information needs of fire fighters was identified. These were validated through two different stages via 34 brainstorming sessions with the participation of a number of subject-matter experts. To explore appropriate presentation methods of information, software mock-up was developed. This mock-up is made up of several human computer interfaces, which were evaluated via 19 walkthrough and workshop sessions, involving 22 potential end-users and 14 other related experts. As a result, many of the methods used in the mock-up were confirmed as useful and appropriate and several refinements proposed. The outcomes of this study include: 1) A set of GDI Diagrams showing goal related information needs for each of the job roles with the link to their decision-making needs, 2) A series of practical recommendations suitable for designing of human computer interfaces of fire emergency response information system, 3) Human computer interface mock-ups for an information system to enhance Situation Awareness of fire fighters and 4) A conceptual architecture for the underlying information system. In addition, this study also developed an enhanced cognitive task analysis tool capable of exploring the needs of emergency first responders. This thesis contributes to our understanding of how information systems could be designed to enhance the Situation Awareness of first responders in a fire emergency. These results will be of particular interest to practicing information systems designers and developers in the FRS in the UK and to the wider academic community

An Exploration into the Influence of Servicescape Cues on Perceptions of Counterfeit Products.

Purpose The purpose of this research is to examine the role of servicescape theory in the counterfeit context and explore the extent to which servicescape cues influence perceptions of counterfeit products. Literature Following extensive examination of the current literature surrounding counterfeit activity it was discovered that counterfeits can be sold in a variety of environments; market stalls and car boots sales through to the legitimate retail environments. In the instances where the counterfeit has been integrated into the legitimate retail environment, weaknesses in the supply chain are usually to blame. These occurrences can be a major concern for both brands and consumers as they pose not only a risk to brand image but also a threat to consumer safety. Much of the current literature which explores consumer perceptions of counterfeit products concentrates on tangible product attributes and their influence. This research expands the current knowledge by examining further influential factors in the form of environmental cues. As a means of discussing the various elements which constitute a retail environment, the concept of servicescape is incorporated and analysed into the literature discussion. Following a comprehensive exploration of the various cues that may be present within a retail environment, the extent to which these cues influence consumer behaviour is explored. Further to this, as a means of understanding the ways consumers generate perceptions of counterfeit products, the processes of sensation and perception are analysed. Methodology The methodology chapter contained within this thesis considers both the philosophical positioning and the data collection methods used by this research. The philosophical positioning of the researcher is one of a constructivist-interpretive nature. Focus groups in conjunction with photo elicitation were the core data collection methods used. This combination of methods allowed an excellent opportunity for discussion and insights to be gathered and emotions to be recorded surrounding the issues of counterfeiting, servicescape and perception formation. Findings The findings which were identified by this research contribute extensively to the existing knowledge regarding counterfeiting and servicescape. The key themes highlighted the influence of human variables on perceptions of counterfeit products. Within this theme were a number of subsidiary themes including the influence of image, socio-demographics, other individuals within the counterfeit purchase environment, customer characteristics, human/social crowding and the influence of staff in the counterfeit purchase environment. In addition to this, levels of privacy also appeared to be an influential cue amongst participants in relation to their perceptions of product authenticity. Levels of spatial crowding were also an influential factor used by the research participants as a means of forming perceptions regarding product authenticity. From examination of the data, it was also made apparent that branding categorisation within a counterfeit purchase environment was particularly influential. Finally, servicescape permanency was noted to be a key theme throughout the focus group discussions. It appeared that a purchase environment‟s level of permanency was a key influencer when determining whether or not it sold counterfeit products

Young motherhood and consumption : an exploration of the consumer practices of a group of young mothers in Bristol

This thesis explores the consumer practices of a group of young mothers in the city of Bristol. A staged and incremental research design was followed, which incorporated aspects of participant observation, activity based focus groups and a photo elicitation exercise. The study focuses on how a group of young mothers managing on limited incomes engaged with expansive markets for maternity and the new baby, and the meaning and emotion they attached to "baby stuff". The research describes how for the young women in this study buying for babies was a priority and part of their everyday caring work, involving the careful management of budgets and the skilful negotiation of consumer markets as well as the negation of mothers' own consumer projects ..and youth identities. While perhaps a financial necessity, it is suggested that the focus on meeting the 'needs' of babies over those of mothers enables these young women to locate themselves as 'good mothers', who put their children first. The thesis also explores how for the participants in the research material goods, and in particular the adornment and presentation of infants, played a crucial role in displaying maternal competence in the face of a sense of public visibility and condemnation. Appearance was everything and commodities provided protection for both mothers and children from the negative associations of poverty and an inability to consume. Further to this, the research examines the practices of giving gifts to babies and the making of maternal memory as significant aspects of the materiality of maternity for these young women. It is suggested that giving gifts to babies represents an important form of contemporary gift giving, which enables the expression and constitution of relationships between babies and their social networks. The collection and collation of "baby stuff" provides a means of creating childhood memories and histories which can be recalled through these objects. In this part of the investigation the practice of giving "mum" jewellery and getting the names of babies tattooed on mothers' bodies emerge as two furthers sites where these young women make the maternal visible . The study highlights the significance and myriad roles that consumer culture plays in the lives of young mothers, providing a rich account of the experiences and struggles of young mothers through an original lens. This work fills a gap in the literature on motherhood and consumption and makes a relevant contribution to a number of additional areas of scholarship including youth and consumption; low-income consumption; and indeed young motherhood, engaging also with contemporary debates over commercialisation and commodity consumption in late modernity and discourses about 'disordered' working class consumer practice