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

Wider societal sphere and the decision concerning the use of private tutoring

The chapter explores the influences of various elements stemming from the wider societal sphere on the decision concerning the use of private tutoring (PT) services. This chapter is divided into five sections. In the first section, the focus of the discussion is on an exploration of changes occurring in this transitional period to the public discourse surrounding the PT phenomenon. It is argued that the parallel processes of expanding PT use, increasingly open communication and increasing visibility of PT in the public sphere changed the public image of PT and lay the foundation for the development of an increasingly common view of PT as a normal and even necessary educational activity. The second section of this chapter explores the notion of PT as a normative behaviour and the ways in which this contributes to the familial decision concerning the use of PT services. The third section of this chapter examines the influences of a shifting public discourse surrounding PT and the normative nature of PT use on the decision concerning PT use. Here, the tendencies of pupils and parents to conform to the ‘PT norm’ and the manner in which social influence can be powerful in convincing families to follow the decisions and activities of others will be examined. The fourth section presents participants’ perspectives regarding the relationship between the perceived instrumentality of education for fulfilling personal future goals and the decision to use PT services. This section is guided by the idea that families invest in PT to increase the probability that their children will be successful within the educational system, thereby gaining access to higher educational levels that guarantee a greater return in the future. Finally, the last section of this chapter relates PT use with the level of competitiveness within educational systems and societies as a whole. Here, it will be argued that the demand for PT increases as a result of intense competition for educational opportunities and that families treat PT as a strategy for increasing or maintaining their children’s competitive advantage within the formal education system

Consequences of communicating climate science online: The effects on young people’s reactions to climate science

This thesis reveals the potential pitfalls of relying on the Internet to communicate serious environmental issues. This exploratory research examines the consequences of aspects of the information society focusing on the effects of the Internet upon three reactions to climate communication: public understanding, perception of risk and support for climate change mitigation. It examines the implications of the rise of the information society on young people’s (18-25 year olds) consumption of media and climate science information. The information society literature emerged before the Internet, but predicted the increasing access to information that has arisen in the past two decades and its significant impacts on society and communication. An analytical framework is developed focusing on the sharing of information and the consequences of both misleading information and competition for the user’s attention. To explore the impact of the Internet upon public perception of risks posed by and their understanding of climate change, this research uses a mixed methodological approach. The qualitative approach of focus groups has been selected to establish how young people use the Internet and whether they share and actively engage with climate change information online. A quantitative approach of the experimental method has critically examined the impact of junk information (climate sceptic material) and information overload (competition for users’ attention) on reactions to climate science. The original contribution to knowledge of this thesis was the key finding that the lack of engagement with climate science online poses a more serious issue than the risk of climate sceptic information being virally shared. Simply having the information accessible is not enough when there is so much competition for users’ attention and the ease with which they can filter out climate change information

Exploring the role of Information and Communications Technology in the experience of refugees and their service providers in the city of Montréal

Since January 2017, the increased number of asylum claims made in Canada has resulted in a significantly backlogged immigration system. In Montréal, refugee claimants awaiting court hearings for months on end often face isolation and exclusion. Research has shown that refugees increasingly rely on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to curb the effects of living in legal, cultural and social limbo. What remains unknown, however, is how service providers (community organizations, social workers, volunteers) perceive ICT and adapt their work to the omnipresence of these tools. Drawing from ethnographic data including ten in-depth interviews conducted with refugees and service providers, this thesis explores the role of ICT in refugee support networks of Montréal. Refugee participants reported using ICT to stay connected with their family abroad while developing a locally-situated network. Similarly, ICT facilitated service providers’ work and increased the engagement of the local community. However, ICT use did not only yield positive outcomes: participants expressed concern about the problematic spread of misinformation online, and about privacy and traceability issues. Results therefore indicate that ICT can be exploited to promote social inclusion in a context of forced displacement, but also exacerbates refugees’ exposure to certain threats

Preventing catastrophic events in construction

The construction industry recognises the hazardous nature of its activities, which can be seen in the high toll of accidents its workers suffer compared with other industries - ranging from lost time injuries to fatalities. There is also a high incidence of ill-health among construction workers, including fatal diseases such as cancer arising from asbestos exposure. However, the industry may not be sufficiently aware of the potential for it to be associated with more major or catastrophic events (those involving multiple deaths and/or significant damage to property and infrastructure). Larger construction organisations have been applying ‘holistic’ risk management techniques to manage project risk. Low probability but high-consequence issues have often been included in these considerations. Most issues addressed have had purely commercial consequences eg sudden loss of a major contract or customer. However, some issues do have significant health and safety implications. This project has examined these ‘low probability but high-consequence’ safety hazards by looking at: n the types of catastrophic event which have occurred or which might occur during construction; n the reasons for occurrence when there have been (or could have been) catastrophic events during construction, including an examination of the underlying factors; n the controls which should contribute to an avoidance of a catastrophic event; and n where the UK construction industry could improve. This report and the work it describes were funded by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Its contents, including any opinions and/or conclusions expressed, are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect HSE policy

Media And Information Literacy Curriculum For Teachers

Fulltext in: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001929/192971e.pd

ICT-related transformations in Latin American metropolises

The use and application of ICT within and between cities is resulting in significant urban transformations, making cities more connected as well as more complex. A sub-discipline of urban studies - urban ICT studies - has recently emerged to explore, analyse and theorise how the technological advances are transforming urban forms, urban processes and the perceptions of urban life. ICT-related transformations in cities of the developing world, however, have not received enough academic attention until now. This book makes a contribution to the field of urban ICT studies in cities of the South, by exploring the ICT-related transformations in the Latin American urban scene. Based on Gabriel Dupuy’s notion of ‘urbanism of networks’, this explorative research identifies and analyses the recent transformations at three levels: the ICT infrastructure networks, the networks of production and consumption of ICTs in the local urban economy, and the diffusion of digital connectivity in everyday life. The book also presents the situation of digital connectivity in Buenos Aires and Lima, selected as case-studies because singular ICT-related processes are occurring in these two large metropolises. Besides from identifying the urban main trends at the different levels, the results have been also useful to spell out the main trends regarding urban functioning and the urban form, as well as the new problems and new opportunities that the introduction and development of ICTs bring to Latin American cities. The main findings point out that Latin American metropolises have great assets at the infrastructural level as main nodes of the ICT backbones infrastructures. However, there is a profound contradiction between the ICT-related developments occurring in the urban economies, and the social and cultural life of the cities. The low performance of the Latin American metropolises regarding their integration in the global economy and the production of science and technology are in stark contrast with the eagerness of Latin Americans to be connected and to be able to participate as citizens in the network society. These contradiction constitute the largest problem of the future of the metropolises

Sustainable Systems Thinking in Communication Design Education

Design ingenuity and sustainability can, and should, work together. Designers have an ethical responsibility to provide ideas that do no harm, and better yet, create positive solutions that nourish the environment, social and cultural structures, and the economy. This approach, referred to as sustainable systems thinking--in contrast to more common design approaches--looks at a problem as an integrated component of an entire network. Sustainable systems thinking helps designers, clients, and consumers to consider who or what is connected to the design outcome, where the project will have positive and negative ecological, financial, cultural or social impacts, and make the entire supply chain visible. This process requires a more holistic and deeply collaborative method that still emphasizes creativity and innovation like traditional design processes. This also calls for a redefined craft that explores new materials and processes to confront issues of sustainability and to better understand the interconnectedness of all parts of a system. While some individual designers are taking the lead, unfortunately, sustainable systems thinking is rarely taught in communication design education. To become a guiding principle rather than an exception, the process of thinking in sustainable systems must be integrated into the fundamental curriculum in communication design education. This argument is the basis of my research agenda. The results of a survey I conducted indicate that sustainable systems thinking education is rarely taught in undergraduate design courses. This survey also shows the desire from students to learn about this topic in communication design programs. Through personal interviews, design educators shared their perspective on integrating sustainable systems thinking in curricula. Incorporating systems thinking into the core undergraduate education will allow students to begin thinking, at a visceral level, about problems as components of larger systems and connected concerns. As a result, it is my goal that the designers of tomorrow will have the power and knowledge to design responsibly for more social equality, cultural preservation, environmental viability and economic stability

Towards effective governance of information in a Brazilian agricultural research organisation

There are three different uses of the term 'information' in ordinary language: in the restricted sense, it means diverse types of material objects, such as data or documents ('information as thing'); alternatively, the term is used as in reference to the act of informing or becoming informed ('information as process'), or to equate to knowledge ('information as knowledge'). Each of these connotations represents a legitimate view of information in its own right, being equally significant to information-intensive organisations. The literature lacks studies that approach information from an integrative viewpoint, however. The purpose of this study was to explore and develop the notion of 'information governance' as an integrative, systemic approach to information in the context of research organisations. Soft Systems Methodology was used in a case study involving the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation. Qualitative data was gathered through in-depth interviews with researchers and information/knowledge managers, followed by a thematic, two-level analysis. From a 'macro level' of analysis (the wider Brazilian agricultural research system) it was found that, to solve increasingly complex research problems, collaborative, multidisciplinary networking is needed. On the other hand, competitive forces are continuously emanating from the systems of research steering, funds and resources' allocation, quality control, and recognition and reward. This conflict inhibits the collaborative sharing of 'information as thing' and 'as knowledge', disturbs internal communication flows and contributes to low levels of synergy and cross-departmental partnerships, ultimately affecting research outcomes. At a 'meso level' (the local practices and culture of agricultural knowledge production), different epistemic cultures were identified (named in vitro, in situ and in silico research), which respond differently to the opposing forces of collaboration and competition. Based on a deep understanding of the agricultural research system and underlying epistemic cultures, a framework for effective governance of information was developed. Action to improve the governance of information at Embrapa would involve nurturing an information culture that supports collaborative work. Given that interactions between researchers are determined by their individual pursuits and struggles, this would require a change in the corporate system of performance evaluation and reward, according to the different epistemic cultures