The socio-materiality of parental style: negotiating the multiple affordances of parenting and child welfare within the new child surveillance technology market

Purpose – This study aims to offer understanding of the parent – child relationship by examining, through a socio-material lens, how one aspect of the new child surveillance technology market, child GPS trackers (CGT), are rejected or adopted by families, highlighting implications for child welfare, privacy and children’s rights policy. Design/methodology/approach – The authors gathered netnographic data from a range of online sources (parenting forums, online product reviews, discussion boards) that captured parental views towards the use of CGT and stories of the technology in use and theorize the data through application of a novel combination of neutralisation and affordance theory. Findings – The research reveals how critics of CGT highlight the negative affordances of such product use (highlighting the negative agency of the technology). Parental adopters of CGT, in turn, attempt to rationalize their use of the technology as a mediator in the parent – child relation through utilisation of a range of neutralisation mechanisms which re-afford positive product agency. Implications for child welfare and policy are discussed in the light of those findings. Originality/value – The paper presents an empirical, qualitative understanding of parents negotiating the emergence of a controversial new child-related technology – CGT – and its impact upon debates in the field of parenting and childhood; develops the theory of parental style towards parental affordances, using a socio-material theoretical lens to augment existing sociological approaches; and contributes to the debates surrounding child welfare, ethics, privacy and human rights in the context of child surveillance GPS technologies

Reproduction of Gender Ideology Through Russian Consumer Culture: The Case of Iconography of the 'Mother' in Russia, an Extended Abstract

ABSTRACT The interest towards gender related studies in marketing emerged since late 1960s along with the critical developments regarding gender inequalities (Pilcher & Whelehan, 2004, Cova, et al., 2013). The shifting methods and approaches of analysing gender stimulated the formation of a discipline called ‘gender studieslan, 2001; Durante et al, 2011; Fan&Miao, 2012; Tiferet et at, 2012). Due to the complexity of understanding and interpreting gender roles in Marketing Communication (MC) scholars suggested and implemented interdisciplinary methods for more in –depth interpretation (Zotos & Tsichla (2014), Luyt, (2011). Knoll et al (2011)). Nonetheless, majority of scholars tend to focus on the gender stereotyping and comparative studies of male and female role portrayals in TV/print ads via quantitative content analysis (Berger (2015) Schroeder & Zwick (2004) (Kroska, 2006). This study aims to bring innovation in the field by applying multiple methods of investigation of archetypal images of “mother” in MC. This study explores the Russian consumer culture by focusing on the gender ideology and its role in the print advertisements. The doctoral project is divided into several stages that will subsequently contribute towards the knowledge by its originality. By heavily relying on Bourdieu’s sociology (Bourdieu, 1989) and Consumer Culture Theory traditions (Arnould & Thompson, 2005), the first stage of the research aims to explore and interpret the production of gender ideology in MC by the use of critical visual methods (Schroeder, 2002) and qualitative content analysis (QCA) (Schreier, 2012) and in the second stage further extends the investigation of the re- production of gender ideology from critical feminist perspective. The last stage of the study employs qualitative methods; in-depth interviews with Russian mothers, in order to understand how images used in advertisements influence the construction of identity of Russian women. The first stage of investigation concentrates on the advertisements published in three popular Russian women and baby magazines and correspondingly compares the representations of woman as mother in three most popular British magazines. The dimensions and categories of QCA emerged according to the critical visual analysis (Schroeder, 2002) that took into consideration the key historic events within this specific culture, sociological stimulus and changing patterns of everyday life, political and economic influence, including the consequences of soviet power in Russian culture. Totally 45 randomly selected issues of Russian magazines for the period of 2013-2015 have been selected and overall 160 ads with images of mother have been analysed. At this stage the research continues the comparative content analysis of images advertised in most popular mother and baby magazines in the UK. For the effectiveness and validation of the research outcomes additional inquiry is arranged with editors and advertisement agencies with the tactical purpose of understanding how the particular images of motherhood are positioned in ads and generally how the ads are designed and originated. This will largely contribute towards the theme formations for the in-depth interviews with Russian mothers. The expected outcome of the research will be concluded in the final section of the thesis where managerial implications are discussed and the outcomes of the previously mentioned stages are synthesised

Reproduction of Gender Ideology through Russian consumer culture: Iconography of Russian ‘Mother’

Contemporary studies in consumer research significantly shifted the attention towards gender identities and its importance in consumer culture (Epp and Price 2008, Humphreys and Thompson 2014; Dion et al 2014, Cova et al 2013), however less attention was given to ideological aspects in gender representations persisting in today’s marketing practice (Thompson and Üstüner 2015, Thompson and Coskuner-Balli 2007). CCT scholars often look at the social reproduction (Bourdieu 1979) and construction of identity as a result of socio-historic and sociocultural change that are evoked through meanings, symbols and signs (Moisio, Arnould, Price 2004, Arsel and Bean 2013). Wallendorf and Arnould (1991) argue that class and gender norms undergo through intergenerational transmission that often represent the collective past and Humphreys and Thomson (2014) suggest culturally iconic images as significant element in consumer decision making process and they represent the ‘bigger systematic picture of integrated political and market structures’ (Holt 2012, McDonagh et al 2012). Thus the theoretical and conceptual conversation around CCT allows this study to fulfil the gap by looking at the reproduction of gender ideology that presumably generates iconographic images of motherhood (mothers) in print advertisement. Following Schroeder’s interpretation we agree that images are core components of advertising practice that continuously circulate in everyday life by producing and reproducing sociocultural meanings (Schroeder 2006, Borgerson and Schroeder 2002;), stimulate gender roles (Goffman 1979), circulate signs and symbols that contribute towards identity formation as well as lifestyle choices (Arnold and Thompson 2005, Featherstone 2006). Thus this study explores archetypical images of mothers in Russian consumer culture and proposes five archetypes of motherhood frequently used in print media. By implemented body of theory in consumer research we suggest a novel theoretical framework that attempts to unpack iconography of Russian mothers and the effect of reproduced gender ideology in Russian consumer culture

Reproduction of Gender Ideology Through Russian Consumer Culture: The Case of Iconography of the ‘Mother’ in Russia

Gender is one of the central topics of contemporary studies in marketing and consumer research. Since the introduction of Goffman’s schema on gender roles and portrayals in advertisements (Goffman, 1979), scholars continue adapting his method and reveal some of the hidden factors of gender roles, portrayals or inequalities in contemporary marketing practices (Bettany et al 2010). Noticeably, less attention has been given to the ideological aspects of gender portrayals and its unique value of producing and reproducing sociocultural meanings around gender. Thus, this research looks into the archetypal images of Russian mothers and proposes multiple ichnographic images of motherhood implemented in contemporary Russian print media. The study adopted critical visual methods (Schroeder, 2002) and qualitative content analysis (Schreier 2014) while analysing advertisements from three Russian and three Western origin ‘mother and baby’/’parenting’ magazines. The study is positioned within the theoretical spectrum of Consumer Culture Theory and contributes to the field by unpacking the role of ‘symbolic power’/ (ideology) (Bourdieu, 1979) around the motherhood that persists in contemporary Russian consumer culture

Siblings as socialization agents: Exploring the role of ‘sibship’in the consumer socialization of children

Purpose - This paper explores how siblings act as agents of consumer socialisation within the dynamics of the family network. Design/methodology/approach - Key consumer socialisation literature is reviewed, highlighting the growing role that siblings play in the lives of contemporary children. The authors' interpretive, exploratory study is introduced which captures the voices of children themselves through a series of in-depth interviews. Findings - A series of socialisation behaviours are documented, with children working in both positive and negative ways to develop the consumer skills of their siblings. A fourfold typology of sibling relationships is described, capturing the dynamic of sibling relationships and parental approaches to parentingvis-à-vis consumption. This typology is then used to present a typology of nascent child consumer identities that begin to emerge as a result of socialisation processes within the family setting. Research limitations/implications - The role siblings play in the process of consumer socialisation has potentially important implications in terms of the understanding of the socialisation process itself, and where/how children obtain product information. Scope exists to explore the role siblings play as agents of consumer socialisation across a wider variety of family types/sibling variables presented here (e.g. to explore how age/gender shapes the dynamics of sibling-sibling learning). Originality/value - Through adopting a networked approach to family life, the authors show how the wider family dynamic informs sibling-sibling relationships and resulting socialisation behaviours. The findings problematise the view that parents alone act as the main conduits of consumer learning within the family environment, highlighting how parent-child relationships, in turn, work to inform sibling-sibling socialisation behaviour and developing consumer identities

Imaging in the Diagnosis and Monitoring of Children with Idiopathic Scoliosis

The paper reviews the current imaging methods in the diagnosis and monitoring of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Radiography is generally used in the initial diagnosis of the condition. Postero-anterior erect full spine radiograph is generally prescribed, and is supplemented by lateral full spine radiograph when indicated. To reduce the radiation hazard, only the area of interest should be exposed, and follow-up radiographs should be taken with as few projections as possible. When available, EOS®stereoradiography should be used. The radiation of the microdose protocol is 45 times less than that of the conventional radiography. Surface topography offers another approach to monitoring changes of curvatures in AIS patients. Recently, 3D ultrasound has been found to be able to measure the Cobb angle accurately. Yet, it is still in the early developmental stages. The inherent intrinsic and external limitations of the imaging system need to be resolved before it can be widely used clinically. For AIS patients with atypical presentation, computed tomography (CT) and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be required to assess for any underlying pathology. As CT is associated with a high radiation dose, it is playing a diminishing role in the management of scoliosis, and is replaced by MRI, which is also used for pre-operative planning of scoliosis.The different imaging methods have their limitations. The EOS®stereoradiography is expensive and is not commonly available. The surface topography does not enable measurement of Cobb angle, particularly when the patient is in-brace. The 3D ultrasound scanning has inherent intrinsic technical limitation and cannot be used in all subjects. Radiography, however, enables diagnosis and monitoring of the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). It is thus the gold standard in the evaluation and management of scoliosis curves.</jats:p

Evaluating the Business Impact of Social Science: a report to the ESRC

This report presents the main findings from a project entitled ‘Evaluating the Business Impact of Social Science', commissioned by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and undertaken by a team of researchers from the University of Hull. In brief, the project involved an examination of the processes through which social science research and related activities impact upon business (defined broadly to incorporate large and small private sector businesses as well as social enterprises, but excluding public sector organisations) in relation to three of the UK’s leading business/management schools that have received significant amounts of ESRC funding in recent years: Cardiff Business School, Lancaster University Management School, and Warwick Business Schoo

A Comparison of Hygromycin and Paromomycin Selection Strategies in the Genetic Transformation of Seven \u3ci\u3eLolium, Festuca, Poa\u3c/i\u3e, and \u3ci\u3eAgrostis\u3c/i\u3e Species

Hygromycin selection for the hpt gene, expressed from the CaMV-35S promoter, has been successful in transgenesis of a limited number of grass species. As an alternative to hpt selection Altpeter et al., (2000) reported successful transformation using paromomycin selection for the nptII gene expressed by the maize ubiquitin promoter. We have tested the utility of a number of selection cassettes using previously sporadically transformable species which nevertheless had very good tissue culture and regeneration protocols