Fashioning identities : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Sociology at Massey University

This research addresses the way in which individual and collective identities are constructed through fashions in the contemporary western world. The reciprocal and interdependent relationship of processually emergent identities, and fashion as a system of cultural representation, is initially established. The argument maintains that certain theoretical explanations of fashion have marginalised this component of the fashion process, and the aim of the thesis is to place the often contradictory junctures of fashions and identities in positions of central importance in the consideration of fashion dynamics. The argument critically reviews different feminist explanations of fashion, and the implications these have for feminist debates around gender and gender identity. The thesis further examines the sociological debates around modernism and postmodernism, and evaluates the contributions of this debate for both the study of fashion, and feminist understandings of identities. The research concludes that contemporary theoretical shifts in the investigation of fashions and identities are the fruition of a 'long revolution' in sociological theory and practice, which indicate important developments for the future resolution of critical problems in the theory of style and politics

Producing place atmospheres digitally: Architecture, digital visualisations practices and the experience economy

Computer generated images have become the common means for architects and developers to visualise and market future urban developments. This article examines within the context of the experience economy how these digital images aim to evoke and manipulate specific place atmospheres to emphasize the experiential qualities of new buildings and urban environments. In particular, we argue that CGIs are far from ‘just’ glossy representations but are a new form of visualising the urban that captures and markets particular embodied sensations. Drawing on a two year qualitative study of architects’ practices that worked on the Msheireb project, a large scale redevelopment project in Doha (Qatar), we examine how digital visualisation technology enables the virtual engineering of sensory experiences using a wide range of graphic effects. We show how these CGIs are laboriously materialised in order to depict and present specific sensory, embodied regimes and affective experiences to appeal to clients and consumers. Such development has two key implications. Firstly, we demonstrate the importance of digital technologies in framing the ‘expressive infrastructure’ (Thrift 2012) of the experience economy. Secondly, we argue that although the Msheireb CGIs open up a field of negotiation between producers and the Qatari client, and work quite hard at being culturally specific, they ultimately draw “on a Westnocentric literary and sensory palette” (Tolia-Kelly 2006) that highlights the continuing influence of colonial sensibilities in supposedly postcolonial urban processes.This research was funded by the ESRC (RES-062-23-0223)

Playing to win or trying your best: Media representations of national anxieties over the role of sport participation during the 2002 commonwealth games.

In the last few years, growing concern has emerged in New Zealand sport about the shift towards a more commercial or professionalised model of sport and away from a mass participation-based model. In the midst of a relatively intense period of debate and concern over this change in direction, the 2002 Commonwealth Games took place in Manchester, England. In this article, we analyse how media coverage of the Games articulated with the broader public debate over the direction of New Zealand sport. Grounded in the assumption that the media both reflects and impacts on public understandings of cultural issues, we believe this analysis of coverage of the Games reveals a profound ambivalence over a more profess ionalised model of sport and points to an unwillingness to give up traditional values of sports participation in order to win. We explore how this debate articulates with current tensions in the realm of Physical Education and suggest that health and physical educators have an important role to play in challenging current pressures towards a win-at-all-costs approach to sport

Re-colonizing spaces of memorializing: the case of the Chattri Indian Memorial, UK

This article inspects the ways that spaces of war memorialization are organized and reorganized through official and unofficial meaning-making activities. It aims to contribute to the discussion of the ‘value’ of memorializing by examining a multifaceted space of remembrance and commemoration: the Chattri Indian Memorial built near Brighton, UK. The article brings postcolonial perspectives to explore how memorializing has been organized here, focusing on the activities of once-colonized people and the affective, embodied aspects of organizing practices. Built in 1921 to honour Indian soldiers who fought in WWI, the Chattri evolved from a colonial instrument to symbol and space for ethnic-Indian group activities. The study employed historical, visual and ethnographic methods to study the tangible monument and the changing nature of the memorializing activities carried out around the monument. Memorializing is conceptualized within three inter-related processes: colonizing, de-colonizing and re-colonizing to examine how forms and practices of memorialization constitute a values-laden organizing system

Young men's ambivalence toward alcohol

There is widespread concern about the health and social consequences of excessive alcohol consumption among young men. Interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm will be affected by ambivalence toward alcohol, because ambivalent attitudes are worse predictors of behaviour than are homogeneous attitudes. It is therefore important to identify aspects of alcohol consumption about which young men are not ambivalent. In-depth interviews were conducted with a socioeconomically diverse sample of 31 men, aged 18–21 living in London, UK. Ambivalence toward alcohol was widespread. None of the drinkers who were interviewed had uncomplicated positive evaluations of drinking: all mentioned compelling reasons not to drink. Most motives for drinking were also identified as reasons for not drinking if consumption became excessive. However, three motives for not drinking were not also motives for drinking: violence, alcoholism, and cost. These findings should be considered during the design of interventions to reduce the health and social consequences of excessive alcohol consumption amongst young men

Sensitizing children to the social and emotional mechanisms involved in racism : a program evaluation

This paper describes and discusses the results of an intervention aiming to sensitize children to the social and emotional processes involved in racism. The intervention was applied and evaluated in 10 Greek elementary schools. The goals and the intervention methods of the program modules are briefly outlined and the results of the program evaluation are elaborated and discussed. Two-hundred students participated in the program and 180 took part in the pre-and-post-testing which assessed their ability to identify emotions associated with prejudice, discrimination and stereotypical thinking; to understand similarities and differences between people; and to develop perspective taking and empathic skills in relation to diverse others. Results indicate gains in all three areas of assessment although the increased ability to identify similarities between people can also be attributed to age/grade effects. The implications of the findings are discussed with regard to antiracism intervention methods and evaluation strategies.peer-reviewe

WHERE DO YOU BREATHE?

The project wheredoyoubreathe.net consists of three elements: a photographic essay, an urban intervention, and a website. The photographic essay forms an investigation of the city through the act of walking. As opposed to the image of the city as a dense world and a conglomerate of vibrant urban spaces full of things, the photographic essay tries to portray it as a tranquilised terrain open to contemplation, a post-industrial and uprooted, yet surprisingly bucolic landscape where one can roam and linger. By walking the landscape, open yet personal spaces get revealed alongside the city’s designated living, working or sociable spaces. They function as possible chill-out spaces for the city walker, and could be called ‘breathing spaces’. The photographic essay is as much a search for this specific urban space as it is an evocation of London as a fluid landscape of possibility

Change management and relocation: a moving experience

Organisational change brings with it a need for facilities changes. Merging, splitting, downsizing, upsizing, adaptations, are all physical manifestations of the need for change. Along with these changes are innumerable human and organizational changes that are often unintended and poorly understood. The purpose of this paper is to explore what the wider literature has to say about these secondary effects. Specifically, we consider the displacement and fracturing of established modes of operation embedded in previously occupied buildings and the formation of new modes of operation. The paper considers the application of ‘griefwork’ initially proposed by Kubler-Ross in the 1950s. Such an approach provides a means to understand physical change. Furthermore, in the following analysis we consider research currently being undertaken at MediacityUK to trace the transition experiences of those impacted by a major facility change across a split-site. The research findings will provide insights concerning architectural and facilities management interventions that can significantly reduce the human and organizational cost of change, which though difficult to measure, have a profound effect on the sustainability of an organization