Popeism and Fordism: Examining the Roots of Mass Production

NORCLIFFE G. B. (1997) Popeism and Fordism: examining the roots of mass production, Reg. Studies 31, 267-280. Although recent literature ascribes a unique role to Henry Ford in the development of mass production methods, in fact there was considerable continuity between pre-Fordist systems of mass production and what followed. Pre-Fordist production is explored through a study of the Pope (bicycle) Manufacturing Company which was innovative in its labour process, functional specialization and vertical integration, its use of patents, of interchangeable parts and promotion of mass consumption, and its nurturing of a specific corporate culture. Many continuities between 'Popeist' bicycle production and automobile production are evident. NORCLIFFE G. B.(1997) Popeisme et Fordisme: une analyse des origines de la production en serie, Reg. Studies 31, 267- 280. Quoique la documentation recente attribue un role unique a Henry Ford pour ce qui est du developpement de la production en serie, en effet ce developpement-la se poursuivait de facon continue entre les methodes de production en serie prefordistes et celles qui les ont suivies. On examine la production prefordiste a partir d'une etude de la societe Pope (fabricant de bicyclettes) qui etait innovatrice quant a l'emploi, a la specialisation fonctionnelle et a l'integration verticale, a l'emploi des brevets, des pieces interchangeables et de la promotion de la production en serie, et a la culture d'entreprise toute particuliere qu'elle a encouragee. Il est evident que nombreux sont les liens entre la production de bicyclettes 'popeiste' et la production d'automobiles. NORCLIFFE G. B. (1997) Popeismus und Fordismus: Eine Untersuchung der Wurzeln der Massenproduktion, Reg. Studies 31, 267-280. Oschon die neuere Literatur Henry Ford eine einzigartige Rolle in der Entwicklung der Methoden der Massenproduktion zuschreibt, bestand in Wirklichkeit betra�chtliche Kontinuita�t zwischen den Vorla�ufern von Fords Massenproduktion und seinen Nachfolgern. Vor-Fordische Produktion wird am Beispiel der Popeschen (Fahrrad) Manufacturing Company untersucht, die Innovationen eingefu�hrt hatte auf den Gebieten des Arbeitsprozesses, der funktionellen Spezialisierung und vertikalen Integrierung, ihrer Ausnutzung von Patenten, von austauschbaren Teilen und der Fo�rderung des Massenverbrauchs, sowie der Plege einer spezifisch korporativen Kultur. Vielerlei Fortsetzungen der Popeschen Fahrradherstellung tauchen in der Automobilherstellung auf.Fordism, Popeism, Mass Production, Bicycle, Manufacturing, Interchangeable Parts, Corporate Culture,

Coupling in Sport: Geopolitics and Hockey Player Production Links Between Canada and China

China’s rise in recent years to become an economic superpower has been accompanied by active policies to promote sport and culture. Once chosen by the Olympic Committee in 2015 to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, China faced a problem since its hockey team was not strong and could potentially be humiliated in the climax events of the Games. The Chinese Ice Hockey Association (CIHA) decided on a strategic coupling with Canadian hockey expertise to create credible men’s and women’s hockey teams, including hiring Canadian coaches, taking teams to Canada for extended professional training, playing exhibition games against Canadian teams, inviting Canadian hockey teams and players to China, and recruiting Canadian hockey players with Chinese heritage to play professionally in China on the HC Kunlun Red Star team (men) and the KRS Vanke Rays (women). We label this relationship a global player production network. However, the strict Covid lockdown in China and the froideur that developed in Canada-China geopolitical relations after the detention in Vancouver of Meng Wanzhou and the arrest in China of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, was followed by a decoupling of the Canada-China hockey relationship. But by granting national status to Canadian-born “heritage” players, and by selecting at the eleventh hour the Kunlun Red Star and Vanke Ray teams as their Olympic teams, China effectively re-coupled with Canada and was thereby able to field two credible hockey teams

Disability and cycling technology: A socio-historical analysis

This article explores longstanding links between cycling and disability. Social models of disability and closely related theories on the social construction of technology are central to our approach. The former insists that disability is a social construct; the latter views technology as socially formed. Disabled persons engage in cycling for, among other things, the pleasure of moving about the city and countryside, parks and neighbourhoods, to access places of work and study, and to gain greater independence in their daily lives. They have played an active role in the development and adaptation of cycles to make them better suited to particular needs. Disabled persons, their friends and family, and technicians have shared ideas and information to design cycling machines that reduce the limitations of technologies and environments developed for so-called "able" bodies. Here, we present a typology identifying seven types of cycles that were and are used by disabled persons for varying purposes. They are as follows: transporters, pedomotives, manumotives, sociables, stability machines, tandems, and power-assisted bikes. In each case, examples existed in the nineteenth century or earlier but social construction and improved materials and technology have dramatically enhanced their utility in recent years