Empowerment, waste and new consumption communities

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the diverse and complementary resistance and waste-reduction practices adopted by UK-based New Consumption Communities, and whether such behaviours empower them to achieve their environmental and social goals. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology can be broadly classified as critical ethnography, which acknowledges the researcher’s own subjectivity, how the informants are treated and represented, and the study’s wider context (Peñaloza, 1994). A participant-observer role is employed and six distinct New Consumption Communities are explored. Findings – It is suggested that through their resistance and empowerment, as well as a reconnection to production, the communities are able to implement alternatives to the wasteful practices of mainstream consumption behaviour, and achieve (partial) autonomy from the hegemonic forces of the market. Originality/value – This paper’s original perspective on waste is not limited to a small group of consumers, and thus should interest marketers and policy makers engaged in the advancement of sustainability and green marketing. Keywords – Consumer Empowerment; Voluntary Simplicity; Waste; Ethnography Paper type – Research pape

Communally Living the Positive Alternative

Downshifting and other ‘resistance’ consumer behaviors have been examined according to varied perspectives, including political consumption (Shaw 2007; Shaw, Newholm and Dickinson 2006; Dickinson and Carsky 2005; Micheletti 2003), consumer activism and movements (Hermann 1970; Hilton 2003; Kozinets and Handelman 2004; Lang and Gabriel 2005) and resistance to consumer culture, the marketplace or marketing more broadly (Kozinets 2002; Giesler and Pohlmann 2003). Indeed, communities of alternative consumption involving radical forms of downshifting and/or ethical consumer behaviour have been largely positioned as anti- consumer culture and anti-marketing (Kozinets 2002; Giesler and Pohlmann 2003; Dobscha and Ozanne 2002; Dobscha 1998). But Juliet Schor (1998:23) suggests that past movements such as the “hippies” were “much more self-consciously anti-consumerist than most of today’s downshifters”; that downshifters today “are not dropping out. They are not back-to-the-land types. They don’t live together. And they don’t share a religion.” In this chapter we examine whether downshifting behaviour is possible within alternative community lifestyles, how it is manifested, and whether it may be considered a form of resistance to consumer culture in such a context. To do so, we review a diverse body of cross-disciplinary literature on the question of resistance to consumer culture, comprising the perspectives mentioned above. We also examine six UK communities of consumers who at a first glance could be seen as current embodiments of the ‘anti-’ and/or ‘resistance’ phenomenon, but which instead have shown communally-held ‘positive alternative’ approaches to discourses and practices encompassing downshifting and ethical consumption. We consider the communities’ relationships with the market and wider society from both the community position and the views of individuals within, presenting the everyday realities of downshifting in a communal context. We (re)present the communities through data from three years of ethnographic research comprising participant-observation, depth interviews, websites, print documents, broadcast material, informal conversations and experience stories with participants in what we have termed New Consumption Communities (Szmigin, Carrigan and Bekin 2007; Szmigin and Carrigan 2003). New Consumption Communities are presented as beneficial in terms of consumer re-enablement; they have been conceptualized as communities providing alternative ways of engaging in consumption and negotiating with the marketplace to an increasingly varied range of individuals (Szmigin, Carrigan and Bekin 2007). New Consumption Communities are formed around a sense of community through consumers’ reconnection to production, and maintained through engagement in boycotts, voicing of concerns and positive choices (Szmigin and Carrigan 2003). The six distinct cases are presented throughout the text in order to diversely illustrate our arguments in this chapter. The first of these is Hockerton Housing Project (HHP), the UK’s first ecologically sound, energy-efficient, earth-sheltered housing complex, launched in 1998. It was built by five resident families who produce 100% of their own wind energy, grow organic food, and manage their own sewage, water collection and filtering systems. Members are committed to a community business that comprises guided tours, educational and specialist workshops. HHP considers itself a best practice example and catalyst for sustainable living. The second community is Fallowfields (pseudonym). Founded in 1950 as an educational trust, Fallowfields had eighteen members at the time of research (2004). Their values comprise learning to live life peacefully and in community. Some members live in shared and others in independent accommodation within the community. During fieldwork, Fallowfields was undergoing an ethos-searching period, with environmental causes gaining prominence. The third community is Spiritual (pseudonym), a pioneering, holistic enterprise whose aim is spiritual (non-religious) education. It comprises an eco-village with several communal buildings for workshops, housing, ethical shops and a hall used for conferences and performances. Spiritual is an inspirational example to other communities. It had around five hundred permanent and volunteer members at the time of research, and thousands of people visit them each year. It is set up as a non-profit charity with a body of trustees, and is holistically devoted to sustainability through its energy windmills, organic sewage system, eco-housing and local exchanges fostered through its own community currency and bank. Stone-Hall (pseudonym) is also committed to holistic education. Its education centre is run by a resident cooperative group and administered by a trust. They are committed to environmental goals, rear livestock, grow vegetables, recycle, have their own water spring, reed-bed sewage, composting system and wood burners. All members work full-time for the community. Sunny-Valley Community (pseudonym) and its eleven members celebrated the community’s 10th anniversary in 2004. It is also a co-housing cooperative based in a shared house on rural land with members sharing maintenance responsibilities. Their ethos has a strong ecological focus and respect for diversity. They have good links with the local village, organize the local composting scheme and take part in the local community currency scheme. Finally, Woodland (pseudonym) is a rural co-housing initiative formed some thirty years ago. It had fifty-eight members at the time of research, and volunteers supplement the community. Spaces were communal with shared kitchen, laundry, library and other social rooms. Common values included self-sufficiency, cooperative living and low environmental impact

Negative Particle Planar and Axial Channeling and Channeling Collimation

While information exists on high energy negative particle channeling there has been little study of the challenges of negative particle bending and channeling collimation. Partly this is because negative dechanneling lengths are relatively much shorter. Electrons are not particularly useful for investigating negative particle channeling effects because their material interactions are dominated by channeling radiation. Another important factor is that the current central challenge in channeling collimation is the proton-proton Large Hadron Collider (LHC) where both beams are positive. On the other hand in the future the collimation question might reemerge for electron-positron or muon colliders. Dechanneling lengths increase at higher energies so that part of the negative particle experimental challenge diminishes. In the article different approaches to determining negative dechanneling lengths are reviewed. The more complicated case for axial channeling is also discussed. Muon channeling as a tool to investigate dechanneling is also discussed. While it is now possible to study muon channeling it will probably not illuminate the study of negative dechanneling.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure, docx fil

From conspicuous to considered fashion: a harm chain approach to the responsibilities of fashion businesses

Throughout the marketing literature, little attention has been paid to the responsibilities of luxury fashion businesses. Harnessing Polonsky et al.’s (2003) ‘harm chain’, the extended ‘harm chain’ (Previte & Fry, 2006) and the theoretical lens of institutional theory, this conceptual paper explores a systematic way to examine the potential for value co-creation, the harmful outcomes linked to luxury fashion marketing activities, and how those harms might be addressed. The supply chain literature has largely ignored the omnipresent influence of the institutional environment. Therefore, our theoretical extension of the ‘harm chain’ to incorporate the institutional forces that cause harm has enabled us to redress the knowledge gap regarding the analysis of negative and positive value creation, broaden the debate around CSR by reconfiguring research into fashion businesses and considering CSR in the context of luxury fashion brands. Our analysis identifies a number of harms occurring throughout the luxury fashion supply chain. The paper concludes by urging luxury fashion businesses to sustain their success through ‘deep’ CSR, adding voice to the developing conversation that seeks to change the scope of the critique of marketing practice beyond the economic and competitive advantages that CSR delivers

Possible observation of phase separation near a quantum phase transition in doubly connected ultrathin superconducting cylinders of aluminum

The kinetic energy of superconducting electrons in an ultrathin, doubly connected superconducting cylinder, determined by the applied flux, increases as the cylinder diameter decreases, leading to a destructive regime around half-flux quanta and a superconductor to normal metal quantum phase transition (QPT). Regular step-like features in resistance vs. temperature curves taken at fixed flux values were observed near the QPT in ultrathin Al cylinders. It is proposed that these features are most likely resulted from a phase separation near the QPT in which normal regions nucleate in a homogeneous superconducting cylinder.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Where's the harm? A social marketing approach to reframing 'problem' drinking cultures

Alcohol consumption is often linked to a broad range of social and health problems, yet alcohol also plays a fundamental role in social bonding between people. This paper considers the potential of social marketing to contribute to alcohol consumption reduction and reframe social norms that encourage 'problem' drinking. Based on qualitative research with a variety of Scottish drinkers, the paper emphasises how and why a better understanding of the culturally bound meanings of alcohol (e.g. social identity, self-concept) are of crucial importance to inform any social marketing approach to reframing excessive drinking

Supporting Intelligent and Trustworthy Maritime Path Planning Decisions

The risk of maritime collisions and groundings has dramatically increased in the past five years despite technological advancements such as GPS-based navigation tools and electronic charts which may add to, instead of reduce, workload. We propose that an automated path planning tool for littoral navigation can reduce workload and improve overall system efficiency, particularly under time pressure. To this end, a Maritime Automated Path Planner (MAPP) was developed, incorporating information requirements developed from a cognitive task analysis, with special emphasis on designing for trust. Human-in-the-loop experimental results showed that MAPP was successful in reducing the time required to generate an optimized path, as well as reducing path lengths. The results also showed that while users gave the tool high acceptance ratings, they rated the MAPP as average for trust, which we propose is the appropriate level of trust for such a system.This work was sponsored by Rite Solutions Inc., Assett Inc., Mikel Inc., and the Office of Naval Research. We would also like to thank Northeast Maritime Institute, the MIT NROTC detachment, the crew of the USS New Hampshire, and the anonymous reviewers whose comments significantly improved the paper

Premature death among primary care patients with a history of self-harm

PURPOSE Self-harm is a public health problem that requires a better understanding of mortality risk. We undertook a study to examine premature mortality in a nationally representative cohort of primary care patients who had harmed themselves. METHODS During 2001–2013, a total of 385 general practices in England contributed data to the Clinical Practice Research Datalink with linkage to Office for National Statistics mortality records. We identified 30,017 persons aged 15 to 64 years with a recorded episode of self-harm. We estimated the relative risks of all-cause and cause-specific natural and unnatural mortality using a comparison cohort of 600,258 individuals matched on age, sex, and general practice. RESULTS We found an elevated risk of dying prematurely from any cause among the self-harm cohort, especially in the first year of follow-up (adjusted hazard ratio for that year, 3.6; 95% CI, 3.1–4.2). In particular, suicide risk was especially high during the first year (adjusted hazard ratio, 54.4; 95% CI, 34.3–86.3); although it declined sharply, it remained much higher than that in the comparison cohort. Large elevations of risk throughout the follow-up period were also observed for accidental, alcohol-related, and drug poisoning deaths. At 10 years of follow-up, cumulative incidence values were 6.5% (95% CI, 6.0%–7.1%) for all-cause mortality and 1.3% (95% CI, 1.2%–1.5%) for suicide. CONCLUSIONS Primary care patients who have harmed themselves are at greatly increased risk of dying prematurely by natural and unnatural causes, and especially within a year of a first episode. These individuals visit clinicians at a relatively high frequency, which presents a clear opportunity for preventive action. Primary care patients with myriad comorbidities, including self-harming behavior, mental disorder, addictions, and physical illnesses, will require concerted, multipronged, multidisciplinary collaborative care approaches

Factors associated with alcohol reduction in harmful and hazardous drinkers following alcohol brief intervention in Scotland: a qualitative enquiry

Background: Alcohol Brief Intervention (ABI) uses a motivational counselling approach to support individuals to reduce excessive alcohol consumption. There is growing evidence on ABI’s use within various health care settings, although how they work and which components enhance success is largely unknown. This paper reports on the qualitative part of a mixed methods study. It explores enablers and barriers associated with alcohol reduction following an ABI. It focuses on alcohol’s place within participants’ lives and their personal perspectives on reducing consumption. There are a number of randomised controlled trials in this field though few ABI studies have addressed the experiences of hazardous/harmful drinkers. This study examines factors associated with alcohol reduction in harmful/hazardous drinkers following ABI. Methods: This qualitative study was underpinned by a realist evaluation approach and involved semistructured interviews with ten harmful or hazardous alcohol drinkers. Participants (n = 10) were from the intervention arm of a randomised controlled trial (n = 124). All had received ABI, a 20 min motivational counselling interview, six months previously, and had reduced their alcohol consumption. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Results: Participants described their views on alcohol, its’ place in their lives, their personal perspectives on reducing their consumption and future aspirations. Conclusions: The findings provide an insight into participants’ views on alcohol, ABI, and the barriers and enablers to change. Participants described a cost benefit analysis, with some conscious consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of reducing intake or abstaining from alcohol. Findings suggest that, whilst hospital admission can act as a catalyst, encouraging individuals to reflect on their alcohol consumption through ABI may consolidate this, turning this reflective moment into action. Sustainability may be enhanced by the presence of a ‘significant other’ who encourages and experiences benefit. In addition having a purpose or structure with activities linked to employment and/or social and leisure pursuits offers the potential to enhance and sustain reduced alcohol consumption. Trial registration: Trial registration number TRN NCT00982306 September 22nd 200