Faking it : counterfeiting and consumer contradictions

Fashion counterfeiting is a multimillion pound business and one which relies on the complicity of the consumer. Frequently seen as a victimless crime, it is a difficult trade to control because as long as consumers desire brands, the greater the market for counterfeits. In this study we consider the way in which consumers relate to fake brands and the implications of counterfeit for consumers creating their identity through commodities. The results point to an inherent and fundamental contradiction in consumers views on counterfeit, willing to buy and wear the fakes but condemning the duplicity of those who do

Desnaturalizar el despojo: una etnografía crítica en la era del resurgimiento del imperialismo

Critical ethnographies and methods of relational comparison provide tools for reconfiguring area studies to challenge imperial visions of the world; for illuminating power-laden processes of constitution, connection, and disconnection; and for identifying slippages, openings, contradictions, and possibilities for alliances. Crucial to this project are Lefebvrian conceptions of the production of space. In developing these arguments, this essay also intervenes in recent discussions of so-called“primitive accumulation” as an ongoing process. It does so by drawing on research into connections between South Africa and East Asia, and using these relational comparisons to highlight the significance of specifically racialized forms of dispossession and their salience to struggles currently underway in South Africa. These examples underscore how critical ethnography and relational comparison provide a crucial means for “advancing to the concrete”—in the sense of concrete concepts that are adequate to the complexity with which they are seeking to grapple. https://doi.org/10.22380/2539472X42Las etnografías críticas y los métodos de comparación relacionales proporcionan herramientas para reconfigurar los estudios de área de modo que estos puedan retar las visiones imperiales del mundo. También arrojan luces sobre procesos de constitución, conexión y desconexión —que están cargados de poder— e identifican deslizamientos, aperturas, contradicciones y posibles alianzas. Las concepciones lefebvrianas sobre la producción del espacio son cruciales para este proyecto. Este ensayo desarrolla estos argumentos a la vez que interviene en las discusiones recientes sobre la denominada “acumulación primitiva” como un proceso continuo. Con base en investigaciones sobre las conexiones entre Sudáfrica y el este de Asia, y mediante comparaciones relacionales, destaca el carácter racializado de ciertas formas de despojo y su relevancia para las luchas que están ocurriendo en Sudáfrica. Estos ejemplos resaltan la importancia de la etnografía crítica y la comparación relacional para “avanzar hacia lo concreto”, en el sentido de conceptos concretos que sean adecuados para la complejidad con la quese está tratando de lidiar. https://doi.org/10.22380/2539472X4

Reworking Apartheid Legacies: Global Competition, Gender and Social Wages in South Africa, 1980 -2000

En este documento, Gillian Hart analiza las relaciones cambiantes entre la producción industrial intensiva que exige mucha mano de obra y las condiciones que favorecen la proliferación de la última, en Sudáfrica, entre 1980 y 2000. A principios del decenio de 1980, el Estado del apartheid ofreció generosos incentivos a las industrias que requerían numerosa mano de obra para que se establecieran en zonas de descentralización industrial. en antiguos territorios bantúes o en zonas adyacentes a los mismos. Las industrias ligeras, muchas de ellas procedentes de Taiwán (Provincia de China) y empleadoras principalmente de mujeres,se multiplicaron en estas zonas, mientras que el número de industrias pesadas que exigían un gran volumen de capital, situadas en los principales núcleos urbanos, disminuyó drásticamente. En 1991, el gobierno de de Klerk, en respuesta a las feroces críticas de las empresas poderosas de Sudáfrica al ver menoscabados sus intereses, recortó drásticamente los subsidios. Desde mediados del decenio de 1990, el Estado posterior al apartheid ha adoptado la inversión extranjera directa (IED) y la exportación de productos como estrategia principal de su política neoliberal. No obstante, según Hart, hasta ahora no se han cumplido estas promesas. Bajo la presión de los productos importados baratos, el empleo en la industria que necesita mucha mano de obra ha disminuido drásticamente, la IED ha sido mínima y los imperativos neoliberales han limitado las políticas sociales redistributivas.In this paper, Gillian Hart examines the changing relationships between labour-intensive industrial production and the conditions of reproduction of labour in South Africa between 1980 and 2000. In the early 1980s, the apartheid state offered generous incentives for labour-intensive industries to locate in "industrial decentralization points" either in or adjacent to former bantustans. Light industries -many of them from Taiwan (Province of China) and employing mainly women-mushroomed in these areas, while the number of heavy capital-intensive industries in the main urban centres decreased sharply. In 1991 the government of F.W. de Klerk, in response to fierce criticism from powerful South African business interests, slashed the subsidies. Since the mid-1990s, the post-apartheid state has embraced foreign direct investment (FDI) and export production as the centre-piece of its neoliberal policy. Yet until now, according to Hart, these promises have remained unfulfilled. Under pressure from cheap imports, employment in labour-intensive industry has shrunk dramatically, FDI has been minimal, and neoliberal imperatives have constrained redistributive social policies./Gillian Hart examine ici l’évolution des relations entre la production industrielle à forte intensité de travail et les conditions de reproduction de la main-d’oeuvre en Afrique du Sud entre 1980 et 2000. Au début des années 1980, le régime d’apartheid était généreux lorsqu’il s’agissait d’inciter des industries à forte intensité de travail à s’implanter dans des zones de décentralisation industrielle, à l’intérieur ou à proximité des anciens bantoustans. Les industries légères, pour beaucoup originaires du Taiwan (Province de Chine) et employant une main-d’oeuvre essentiellement féminine, poussèrent comme des champignons dans ces zones, tandis que le nombre d’industries lourdes à forte intensité de capital diminua dans les grandes agglomérations urbaines. En 1991, le gouvernement de Klerk, face aux critiques virulentes de la part de puissants intérêts économiques sud-africains, réduisit considérablement les subventions. Depuis 1995, l’Etat de l’après-apartheid fait des investissements étrangers directs (IED) et de la production pour l’exportation la pièce maîtresse de sa politique néolibérale. A ce jour, pourtant, cette politique n’a pas, selon Gillian Hart, tenu ses promesses. Des importations bon marché ont provoqué une contraction de l’emploi dans les industries à fort coefficient de main-d’oeuvre, les IED ont été minimes et les impératifs néolibéraux ont fait obstacle à une politique sociale de redistribution.

Some socio-economic aspects of African entrepreneurship : with particular reference to the Transkei and Ciskei

This work encompasses an inquiry into the role of the entrepreneur in economic development, and a report of interviews with eighty African businessmen in the Transkei, Ciskei and some urban locations. South Africa provides a particularly interesting field for the study of African enterprise insofar as it is possible to examine the evolution of entrepreneurship in two fundamentally different environments - namely rural reserves and large urban areas. Furthermore, there has been a substantial increase in the number of African entrepreneurs during this century. The study achieves added significance in view of the wide racial income differentials which are an endemic feature of South African socio-economic existence; moreover, there is a great deal of evidence to suggest that, despite the high real growth rates during recent years, the racial income gap is widening. A corollary to this is the worsening of the relative - though not necessarily the absolute - economic position of the Black population. Hence : "the fundamental question for South Africa's economic future revolves around the income relationship between the Whites and the African segment of the non- White group." At present a great deal of pressure is being exerted on White employers to adopt more racially equitable systems of remuneration, and on the Government to relax the industrial colour bar. Although such measures would probably have a positive influence in preventing the gap from widening still further, there is reason to believe that their effectiveness would be limited. The justifications for this assertion are twofold: a) As Allister Sparks has pointed out, "as long as (Blacks) are limited to being hirelings of (Whites), their progress will necessarily remain stunted. Because of race prejudice they will not be promoted as readily as Whites of equal ability. There will not be Black managers and company directors. They will be held down by a vicious circle of disadvantages: prejudice will deprive them of promotion, which will deprive them of experience, which will provide the pretext for not promoting them. b) There is much convincing evidence to show that property ownership rather than wages is the basic factor determining income distribution. Information indicative of the extreme racial inequality of property ownership in South Africa is given by Spandau, who has shown that in 1960 'other income' (i. e. rent, interest and profits) formed 119% of work income of Whites, and only 19% of the work income of Africans. 2 In the absence of cataclysmic social change, the development of African entrepreneurial talent emerges as a possible means of escaping from this apparent impasse. This does not of course imply that even a fairly large increase in the number of African entrepreneurs would automatically result in raising the living standards of a substantial portion of the Black population. Nevertheless, it would represent a positive move towards redressing the inequalities in property ownership and facilitate the acquisition of organizational skills, which in turn implies a better utilization of human resources than exists at present

Occasional papers, no. 16

This work encompasses an inquiry into the role of the entrepreneur in economic development, and a report of interviews with eighty African businessmen in the Transkei, Ciskei and some urban locations. South Africa provides a particularly interesting field for the study of African enterprise insofar as it is possible to examine the evolution of entrepreneurship in two fundamentally different environments - namely rural reserves and large urban areas. Furthermore, there has been a substantial increase in the number of African entrepreneurs during this century. The study achieves added significance in view of the wide racial income differentials which are an endemic feature of South African socio-economic existence; moreover, there is a great deal of evidence to suggest that, despite the high real growth rates during recent years, the racial income gap is widening.’ A corollary to this is the worsening of the relative - though not necessarily the absolute - economic position of the Black population. Hence: "the fundamental question for South Africa's economic future revolves around the income relationship between the Whites and the African segment of the non-White group."Digitised by Rhodes University Library on behalf of the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER

Dietary advice based on food-specific IgG results

Abstract Purpose -To provide evidence that elimination diet based on food-specific IgG test results is an effective, reliable and valid aid to the management of chronic medical conditions. Design/methodology/approach -A postal survey, commissioned by Allergy UK, was carried out with 5,286 subjects reporting a wide range of chronic medical conditions, who had taken a foodspecific IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay blood test. Questionnaires, issued three months after the results, were analysed to investigate the effect of eliminating the foods identified by the test. To check for response bias, a separate group of patients who had not responded were interviewed by telephone. The analysis and reporting of the data was carried out at the University of York. Findings -Of patients who rigorously followed the diet 75.8 per cent had a noticeable improvement in their condition. Of patients who benefited from following the recommendations 68.2 per cent felt the benefit within three weeks. Those who reported more than one condition were more likely to report noticeable improvement. 81.5 per cent of those that dieted rigorously and reported three or more co-morbidities showed noticeable improvement in their condition. For those who dieted rigorously and reported high benefit, 92.3 per cent noticed a return of symptoms on reintroduction of the offending foods. Originality/value -These data provide evidence for the use of elimination diet based on foodspecific IgG blood test results as an aid to management of the symptoms of a range of chronic medical conditions

Performance of a multi-disciplinary emergency department observation protocol for acetaminophen overdose.

The availability of 20-h N-acetylcysteine (NAC) infusion for low-risk acetaminophen (APAP) overdose enabled our center to implement an Emergency Department observation unit (OU) protocol as an alternative to hospitalization. Our objective was to evaluate our early experience with this protocol. This retrospective cohort study included all patients treated for low-risk APAP overdose in our academic hospital between 2006 and 2011. Cases were identified using OU and pharmacy records. Successful OU discharge was defined as disposition with no inpatient admission. Differences in medians with 95 % confidence intervals were used for comparisons. One hundred ninety-six patients received NAC for APAP overdose with a mean age of 35 years (SD 14); 73 % were white, and 43 % were male. Twenty (10 %) received care in the OU; 3/20(15 %) met criteria for inclusion in the OU protocol and 13/20(65 %) were discharged successfully. Out of the 196 patients, 10 met criteria for inclusion in the OU protocol but instead received care in the inpatient setting. The median total length of stay from presentation to ED discharge was 41 h for all patients treated in the OU, compared to 68 h for ten patients who met criteria for inclusion in the OU protocol but who were admitted (difference 27 h, 95 % CI 18-72 h). ED observation for APAP overdose can be a viable alternative to inpatient admission. Most patients were successfully discharged from the OU. This evaluation identified both over- and under-utilization of the OU. OU treatment resulted in shorter median length of stay than inpatient admission

Returning home: heritage work among the Stl'atl'imx of the Lower Lillooet River Valley

This article focusses on heritage practices in the tensioned landscape of the Stl’atl’imx (pronounced Stat-lee-um) people of the Lower Lillooet River Valley, British Columbia, Canada. Displaced from their traditional territories and cultural traditions through the colonial encounter, they are enacting, challenging and remaking their heritage as part of their long term goal to reclaim their land and return ‘home’. I draw on three examples of their heritage work: graveyard cleaning, the shifting ‘official’/‘unofficial’ heritage of a wagon road, and marshalling of the mountain named Nsvq’ts (pronounced In-SHUCK-ch) in order to illustrate how the past is strategically mobilised in order to substantiate positions in the present. While this paper focusses on heritage in an Indigenous and postcolonial context, I contend that the dynamics of heritage practices outlined here are applicable to all heritage practices

Covid-19 public health road map: Eating behaviour

This roadmap aims to support health officials to consider changes to eating behaviour that may have occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic and to use psychologically-informed behaviour change approaches to optimise health improvement and mitigate negative eating patterns. It will focus on eating a balanced diet, as opposed to eating behaviours related to disordered eating. This guidance should be used alongside the Achieving Behaviour Change (ABC) guide {1} for local government and partners, and the Improving People’s Health behavioural and social science strategy {2} {1}https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/875385/PHEBI_Achieving_Behaviour_Change_Local_Government.pdf {2}https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/744672/Improving_Peoples_Health_Behavioural_Strategy.pd