A historical analysis of consumer culture in Japan: Momoyama-Genroku (1573-1703)

Ankara : The Department of Management and Graduate School of Business Administration of Bilkent Univ., 1996.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 1996.Includes bibliographical refences.Development of consumer culture between Momoyama and Genroku (1573-1703) in the Japanese history is discussed. During this period, there is a rising merchant class, urbanization, eroticism, increase in leisure activities, overconsumption of some goods and a great interest in clothes, fashion and luxury. Art objects are luxury goods which accompany the development of the hedonistic side of the consumer culture. Development of consumer culture is traced in the nature and content of the art works produced and consumed in the Genroku .lapan (Early Edo). As the consumption of clothes and other good widespread, so did consumption of massproduced wood-block prints. Hence, it is shown that consumer culture did not originate solely in the West.Yazıcıoğlu, E TaçlıM.S

Non-western contexts: the invisible half

Like many other disciplines within the broad area of social sciences (e.g., anthropology, gender studies, psychology, sociology, etc.), consumer research is also highly navigated by scholars from Western countries. This, however, does not mean, by any means, that consumer research is devoted to studying Western contexts only. As evident from the ever-increasing number of regional conferences (e.g., Asia-Pacific and Latin American conferences of the Association for Consumer Research) and non-Western students' enrolment in doctoral programs at Western universities, there are many more researchers (from non-Western countries) who are entering the field and enriching it by their colourful contributions. Yet, given the low number of publications on consumer research in non-Western contexts, it seems that our current knowledge in these societies has a long way to go to flourish. More specifically, and in the domain of consumption culture research, this gap is even further widened by the fact that the culture of consumption in such contexts is largely interpreted with reference to the 'grand narratives' of Western scholars (e.g., Foucault, Mafessoli, Bourdieu, Deleuze, Baudrillard, Nietzsche, Durkheim, Derrida, etc.). Therefore, from an ontological perspective, it seems that our existing knowledge about non-Western societies lies heavily on the 'theoretical structures' that are 'constructed' by Western philosophy as a set of ideas, beliefs, and practices (Said, 1978). As Belk (1995) reminds us, consumption culture always existed in all human societies. What makes contemporary societies different from that of our predecessors' is not the fact that consumption culture did not exist in those societies, but that consumption culture has become a prevailing feature in modern society (Slater, 1997; Lury, 1996; Fırat and Venkatesh, 1995; McCracken, 1988). Therefore, the nature and dynamics of consumption culture in each society should be studied not only against the sociocultural, historical, and economic background of a given context (Western or non-Western) but also with reference to the philosophical and epistemological viewpoints that analyse and interpret cultural practices of that society from within that culture. Addressing such issues, this paper discusses some of the key reasons for lack of theory development in the field from non-western contexts. The paper invites scholars in non-Western contexts to introduce the less articulated, and sometime hidden, body of knowledge from their own contexts into the field of marketing in general and consumer research in particular

A high-performance 8 nV/root Hz 8-channel wearable and wireless system for real-time monitoring of bioelectrical signals

Background: It is widely accepted by the scientific community that bioelectrical signals, which can be used for the identification of neurophysiological biomarkers indicative of a diseased or pathological state, could direct patient treatment towards more effective therapeutic strategies. However, the design and realisation of an instrument that can precisely record weak bioelectrical signals in the presence of strong interference stemming from a noisy clinical environment is one of the most difficult challenges associated with the strategy of monitoring bioelectrical signals for diagnostic purposes. Moreover, since patients often have to cope with the problem of limited mobility being connected to bulky and mains-powered instruments, there is a growing demand for small-sized, high-performance and ambulatory biopotential acquisition systems in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and in High-dependency wards. Finally, to the best of our knowledge, there are no commercial, small, battery-powered, wearable and wireless recording-only instruments that claim the capability of recording electrocorticographic (ECoG) signals. Methods: To address this problem, we designed and developed a low-noise (8 nV/√Hz), eight-channel, battery-powered, wearable and wireless instrument (55 × 80 mm2). The performance of the realised instrument was assessed by conducting both ex vivo and in vivo experiments. Results: To provide ex vivo proof-of-function, a wide variety of high-quality bioelectrical signal recordings are reported, including electroencephalographic (EEG), electromyographic (EMG), electrocardiographic (ECG), acceleration signals, and muscle fasciculations. Low-noise in vivo recordings of weak local field potentials (LFPs), which were wirelessly acquired in real time using segmented deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes implanted in the thalamus of a non-human primate, are also presented. Conclusions: The combination of desirable features and capabilities of this instrument, namely its small size (~one business card), its enhanced recording capabilities, its increased processing capabilities, its manufacturability (since it was designed using discrete off-the-shelf components), the wide bandwidth it offers (0.5 – 500 Hz) and the plurality of bioelectrical signals it can precisely record, render it a versatile and reliable tool to be utilized in a wide range of applications and environments

Investigation of on skin surface response due to acoustic radiation from stenosed blood vessels

Arterial stenosis is a form of cardiovascular disease which leads to highest rate of fatalities worldwide. When stenosis is present in coronary arteries, it leads to heart attack and often sudden death. Arterial disease is usually not confined to critical organs such as the heart and the brain but observed throughout the peripheral cardiovascular system. When an artery has a diameter reduction, acoustic radiation originating from this constriction propagates through soft tissues and reaches to skin surface. Therefore, these signals detected on skin surface may provide valuable information for diagnostic purposes. In this study, effects of acoustic radiation on skin surface due to a stenosis are investigated. Human upper arm is modeled using commercial finite element analysis software ADINA. Realistic geometries and soft tissue mechanical properties are employed. Acoustic pressure distribution due to constriction is modeled using related studies in literature and applied on inner surface of blood vessel. Harmonic analysis is performed for upper arm and pressure distribution on skin surface is obtained. It is observed that increasing level of stenosis leads to an increase in pressure amplitudes on skin surface where the region which is closest to the constricted artery has the highest pressure amplitudes

The interplay between socioemotional wealth and family firm psychological capital in influencing firm performance in hospitality and tourism

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of family firm specific non-financial dynamics [socioemotional wealth (SEW) and family firm psychological capital (FFPsyCap)] on firm performance. We develop a model of how family firms' SEW preservation goal negatively affects firm performance in terms of sales and the mitigating influence of FFPsyCap on this association. We test the model on a sample of 192 family firms in the Hospitality and Tourism (H;T) industry. Using a cross-sectional research design, surveys were solicited from small-and-medium size hotels in Turkey. Ordinary Least Squares technique is used to test our hypotheses. The results reveal that family firms' SEW preservation goal negatively affects firm performance in terms of sales, and the FFPsyCap mitigates this influence. Accordingly, if small-and-medium size firms in H;T can capitalize on non-financial strengths and minimize the impact of family-centric goals on firm outcomes, they can attain transgenerational sustainability and success. © 2020 Elsevier Lt

Treatment of resistant idiopathic hiccups with pulse radio frequency on phrenic nerve and gabapentin: A case report

Hiccups affect life quality, career and family life when they become persistent. We present here a 54-year-old man who worked as a mason and a blacksmith with hiccups complaint for nearly one and a half years. In this period, he was admitted to emergency service ten times with fainting or almost fainting, cold sweating and hand stretching complaints. The patient expressed that he frequently threw up when he had hiccups and his social life was negatively affected. He reported that he was treated with baclofen, esomeprazole and hyoscine-n-butyl bromur without relief. He used escitalopram and chlorpromazine for a short time and quit because they negatively affected his sleeping. As he did not have any relief from medications, he refused any oral medical therapy including gabapentin and started to seek remedy from paramedical treatments resulted with no benefit. The patient was referred to algology department and an intervention on phrenic nerve with pulse radio frequency (8 minutes, 45 Volts, 20 milliseconds wavelength) was performed. Symptoms stopped immediately after the procedure but one week later, although the patient reported a significant decline in symptoms he still had hiccups. The patient was offered oral medical therapy again. With considerable relief from symptoms, the patient accepted oral therapy this time. Gabapentin 300 mg bid was prescribed. The symptoms were completely recovered and the patient reported no hiccups after 30 days of Gabapentin administration. Our case suggests that administration of gabapentin after pulsed radiofrequency might be effective for the treatment of persistent hiccups.Keywords: Hiccups, persistent, pulse radio frequenc

MODELING THE COMPLIANCE OF A VARIABLE STIFFNESS C-SHAPED LEG USING CASTIGLIANO'S THEOREM

This paper discusses the application of Castigliano's Theorem to a half circular beam intended for use as a shaped, tunable, passively compliant robot leg. We present closed-form equations characterizing the deflection behavior of the beam (whose compliance properties vary along the leg) under appropriate loads. We compare the accuracy of this analytical representation to that of a Pseudo Rigid Body (PRB) approximation in predicting the data obtained by measuring the deflection of a physical half-circular beam under the application of known static loads. We briefly discuss the further application of the new model for solving the dynamic equations of a hexapod robot with a C-shaped leg