Consumer lament: An ethnographic study on consumption, needs, and everyday complaints in postsocialist Bulgaria

In this dissertation, I examine issues of consumption, "transition," and value in postsocialist Bulgaria. Consumption is an arena where local values are expressed and contested by means of social exchanges. I particularly take daily consumer complaints as useful means to discuss cultural values such as needs and normality which are highlighted in the everyday practices during intensive social transformation. In light of the joining of the European Union (EU), Bulgaria complied with EU requirements needed to harmonize the systems among member states. Although the candidacy for the EU is hardly contested as a national goal, Bulgarians are ambivalent about the imposed blueprints from their Western counterparts. Why is there little collective resistance despite the social discontent expressed through everyday complaints? How do postsocialist citizens negotiate the cultural space they want to defend and the space they are willing to compromise? Based on the interactions with consumer activists, ordinary consumers, and state officials in Sofia, Bulgaria over seventeen months of fieldwork (1999-2002), this dissertation analyzes the relationships between past and present values reflected in consumption practices. It also explores the relationships among consumers, NGOs, the state, and the EU to understand the cultural logic of social changes. Departing from the common understanding of hegemony and complicity, I explain the absence of resistance in terms of "complaisance" because the reproduction of dominant values is not always enabled by "consent." The daily complaints by Bulgarians offer insights into postsocialist consumption practices which cannot be merely understood as an emulation of the "West" and a consequence of homogenizing forces. Rather, historically shaped cultural values inform such practices and influence how Bulgarians respond to the external pressure for reform to join the EU. They reflect Bulgarians' continuing effort to make sense of the present without dismissing past experiences that are often deemed worthless. This dissertation offers a comparative study of consumption, an analysis of "transition" from a socialist state to a capitalist European member state, and an ethnographic account on cultural values which are shaped and negotiated between past and present as well as the "center" and "margins" in the global era

Study on the heterogeneity in mixture carrageenan gels viewed by long time particle tracking

The network structure of mixed κ- (KC) and ι- (IC) carrageenan gels were investigated using particle tracking in a long time observation.The Brownian motion of 100 nm particles tracked for ~1400 s was utilized to probe the microenvironment in the mixed gels.The individual mean square displacement (msd) of particles in different mixing ratios of KC/IC showed a broad distribution, indicating spatial heterogeneity in the particle diffusion, suggesting the phase-separated network structure with KC-rich and IC-rich domains.The broad distribution of msd further suggests fast-moving particles in IC-rich and slow-moving particles in KC-rich domains.The distribution of displacement for each of the fast-moving particles showed a non-Gaussian distribution indicating the heterogeneous diffusion behavior.The time-course of the radius of gyration in a sliding time window with a duration time for the mobile particles revealed multiple confinement events.These were attributed to the sterical hindrance or the interaction with the surface of the KC-rich domain, which tolerates the breakaway from the confinement by the Brownian motion.Simulation of particle diffusion was performed to understand the interaction that causes the confinement period.Results revealed that the confinement was caused by the interaction between the particle and the KC-rich domain covered with KC chains.The KC chains have the negatively charged sulfonic group, but salt ions of KCl should satisfyingly shield the repulsive interaction by the sulfonic group to have cohesive interaction with the particle.公開日: 2022-09-0