Mapping Transitions towards Sustainable Consumption : Latitudes, Legends and Declinations in the Interaction between Consumers Culture and Sustainable Business Models

This paper seeks to chart “a navigation route“ towards sustainable consumption. We draw on data collected in research on consumers’ response to integrated products and services bundles conceptualized in design literature as Product Service Systems (PSS). PSS is of interest as it offers potential social and environmental benefits. Such services- based sustainable consumption practices have been neglected by consumer researchers. Methodological approaches to sustainable consumption favoured by policy makers focus research and interventions on individual consumer behaviour, but these have very limited success. Consumer practices, and the role that Government and other institutions play, are a more appropriate conceptual framework to explicate sustainable consumption. However, this Practice Theory approach is not sufficient either; the best solution might be a combination of this with an understanding of the individual value pursued by consumers. We extend Shove (2010)’s contention that adoption of sustainable consumption practices can only be explained with socio-cultural approaches; we propose that a combination of this perspective with an understanding of the value expected by individual consumers, is a more suitable approach than either behavioural paradigms or practices on their own to map these adoption mechanisms.Non peer reviewe

What value do consumers really expect from Product Service Systems? : Reflections on how a different conception of value could facilitate the implementation of PSS in consumer markets

Purpose – This paper explores how PSS may create value in consumer markets in urban environment and how consumers value PSS beyond a narrow focus on functionality. Design/ methodology/approach – Within a case study of a use orientated PSS based on baby products, we conducted ten ethnographic interviews of current users of the scheme. Findings – Our data gives evidence that some of these products are important possessions for consumers’ identity construction. In contrast with highly visible products such as push-chairs, however, baby cots and car seats are seen by consumers from a more utilitarian perspective. Practical implications – The design of a PSS provision around products which are highly symbolic is problematic because of a need to fully understand the complex symbolism and hedonic value consumers attribute to these products. Originality /value – We fill a gap in PSS research by adopting a constructivist perspective to explore the multidimensional value consumers co-create around a baby products PSS.Non peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Consuming use orientated product service systems: A consumer culture theory perspective

Research suggests that product service systems (PSS) may usefully form part of the mix of innovations necessary to move society toward more sustainable futures. However, PSS implementation rates are disappointingly low and an implementation gap has emerged. Drawing on consumer culture theory (CCT), this paper provides insights to help resolve this issue in business to consumer markets. Since consumption of use orientated PSS is analogous to access based consumption, six dimensions of access are set out to analyse a case study of infant car seat provision. Five outcomes are derived from the analysis and these include partial identification with accessed product and interplay of use and symbolic value. This analysis questions the view that PSS do not create sufficient value to overcome a preference for ownership in western societies. Rather, PSS consumption is likely to arise when both functional and symbolic value are extracted by consumers and when PSS are promoted to appropriate consumer groups such as ‘nomads’. Further research is needed to explore these phenomena and address the issues they raise in PSS design processes

Product Service Systems Users and Harley Davidson Riders: the importance of consumer identity in the diffusion of sustainable consumption solutions

This paper sets out an approach to researching socio-cultural aspects of Product Service Systems (PSS) consumption in consumer markets. PSS are relevant to Industrial Ecology as they may form part of the mix of innovations that move society toward more sustainable material and energy flows. The paper uses two contrasting case studies drawing on ethnographic analysis, Harley Davidson motorcycles and Zip Car Car Club, one a case of consumption involving ownership, the other without. The analysis draws on Consumer Culture Theory to explicate the socio-cultural, experiential, symbolic and ideological aspects of these case studies, focusing on product ownership. The paper shows that ownership of Harley Davidson motorcycles enables riders to identify with a brand community and to define themselves. Owners appropriate their motorcycles through customization. In contrast, Zip Car users resist the company’s attempts to involve them in a brand community, see use of car sharing as a temporary fix and even fear contamination from shared use of cars. We conclude that iconic products such as Harley Davidson motorcycles create emotional attachment and can challenge PSS propositions. But we also suggest that somewhat standardized products may present similar difficulties. Knowing more about socio-cultural aspects of PSS may help designers overcome these difficulties

Exploring Liquid Lives and Product Lifetimes

Maurizio Catulli, Matthew Cook, and Stephen Potter, 'Exploring Liquid Lives and Product Lifetimes' paper presented at Product Lifetimes and the Environment Conference. Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK. 17-19 June 2015.Product lifetimes are an important consideration in the context of sustainability. One way to better manage product lifetimes is to promote product service systems (PSS) that complement and/ or substitute traditional forms of product based consumption. PSS satisfy consumer demand by providing time limited access to products via leasing or renting. Here providers typically own the product component of such offerings and thus producer responsibility is extended over the lifecycle. However, while PSS can be found on business to business markets there is a paucity of such offerings on consumer markets. Opportunities that PSS may provide to improve environmental performance are being lost. PSS literature argues that one of the main obstacles to PSS implementation in such markets is the presence of strong consumer object attachments and that PSS simply do not create sufficient value to displace these. However, consumer culture theory (CCT) research suggests that the bonds between certain consumers (nomadic ones) and their possessions are now far from solid: they are liquid. In such instances, consumers highly prize situational value, instrumental use value and immateriality. In other words, demands that form the rational for and may be met through PSS provision. In this contribution we presented selected data from a case study in which pilot baby care PSS were offered to nomadic consumers. The research suggests that such consumers are amenable to PSS provision and that further research is necessary to explore this proposition.Submitted Versio

‘Bold liberals who fought for the cause of freedom’: the German Reception of the Graphic Satires of James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson at the Fin de Siècle (1895-1908)

This article explores the reception of the work of James Gillray and Thomas Rowlandson in Germany in the long nineteenth century. Special attention is given to the impact upon this phenomenon of the evolution of art historical studies and the effect of nationalist cultural policies during the period. The German-language art historical writings of critics (two from Germany (Richard Muther and Hans Wolfgang Singer) and two from the Low Countries (Charles Polydore de Mont and Jan Veth)) during the fin de siècle are analysed in order to explain how their advocacy of these British graphic satirists contributed to liberal agendas of protest and internationalism in opposition to the narrow nationalism of the Prussian-led Kaiserreich

Is Alternative Dispute Resolution a Possibility in the Riverboat Gambling Quagmire - Akin v. Missouri Gaming Commission

During the 1990s, the emergence of riverboat gambling operations has led to an avalanche of social and political debates.\u27 Since 1989, riverboat gaming has been electorally approved in several midwestern states, including Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Louisiana.4 However, this voter acceptance of a formerly stigmatized industry has not come without a significant backlash. In particular, religious groups have denounced riverboat gambling, claiming that such activity inevitably leads to, inter alia, dissipated savings, chronic addictions, and other ancillary societal vices, including prostitution, alcoholism, and drug abuse.\u2

FAA Exclusionary Clause: Are We Headed for a Broader Interpretation of Interstate Commerce - Miller v. Public Storage Management, Inc., The

The Federal Arbitration Act ( FAA ) encompasses a vast spectrum of arbitration controversies. The FAA provides that [a] written provision in .. . a contract evidencing a transaction involving commerce to settle by arbitration a controversy thereafter arising out of such contract or transaction... shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable. 2 The preceding section of the Act, however, states that nothing herein contained shall apply to contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce. 3 In their efforts to maintain a balance between these competing interests, many courts have attempted to assemble a consistent definition of the term commerce throughout the act for the purpose of defining who is exempt and who is not exempt.4 This balance has not always been easily met, however, and such efforts have led to intense debates concerning the very meaning of the FAA

FAA Exclusionary Clause: Are We Headed for a Broader Interpretation of Interstate Commerce - Miller v. Public Storage Management, Inc., The

The Federal Arbitration Act ( FAA ) encompasses a vast spectrum of arbitration controversies. The FAA provides that [a] written provision in .. . a contract evidencing a transaction involving commerce to settle by arbitration a controversy thereafter arising out of such contract or transaction... shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable. 2 The preceding section of the Act, however, states that nothing herein contained shall apply to contracts of employment of seamen, railroad employees, or any other class of workers engaged in foreign or interstate commerce. 3 In their efforts to maintain a balance between these competing interests, many courts have attempted to assemble a consistent definition of the term commerce throughout the act for the purpose of defining who is exempt and who is not exempt.4 This balance has not always been easily met, however, and such efforts have led to intense debates concerning the very meaning of the FAA

Protecting Crops from Abiotic Stress: Copper Oxide Nanoparticle Effects on Wheat and a Beneficial Rhizobacterium

Nanoparticles (NPs) are defined as particles less than 100 nm in at least one dimension. CuO NPs have possible applications in agriculture as micronutrient sources, pesticides, and enhancers of crop stress tolerance. Here, three aspects of CuO NP agricultural applications are studied: 1) the potential of CuO NPs to prevent wheat lodging-when crops irreversibly fall over; 2) CuO NP-induced drought tolerance in wheat seedlings; and 3) the effects of CuO NPs on outer membrane vesicle (OMV) production by Pseudomonas chlororaphis O6 (PcO6), a plant-health promoting bacterium. Wheat grown 7 d exposed to CuO NPs in the growth matrix exhibited increased lignification, or formation of the plant structural polymer lignin, in wheat sclerenchyma cells which are considered the strengthening cells of the plant. This increased lignification also corresponded with stronger wheat shoots. These results, though conducted on wheat seedlings, show promise for use of CuO NPs in preventing lodging in mature wheat. Wheat drought tolerance was measured with chlorophyll fluorescence, a method that quantifies the photochemical reactions in a plant. This method showed that these low CuO NPs dosages had no effect on drought tolerance of wheat grown 14 d then exposed to simulated drought for 8 d. However, CuO NPs did not exhibit phytotoxic effects at these controlled dosages showing that these NPs may be used for other agricultural purposes including pesticides and micronutrient sources. The effects of CuO NPs, an agriculturally relevant NP, and H2O2, a metabolite involved in plant stress responses, on PcO6 and subsequent OMV production were studied with Raman spectroscopy. This spectroscopy method gives a “chemical fingerprint” and with subsequent analysis, Raman spectra can then be used to identify unknown samples. Raman spectroscopy with linear discriminant analysis was able to identify PcO6 cells and isolated OMVs according to the cellular stressor with an 83.3% accuracy and a 71.1% accuracy respectively. OMVs showed unique Raman spectrapeaks compared to PcO6 cells, indicating that PcO6 cell components are selectively enriched or excluded from OMVs. These results show the power of Raman spectroscopy in characterizing OMVs according to cell stressor and thus understanding OMV roles in cell stress responses