The production of subjectivities in neoliberal culture industries : the case of coworking spaces

This article adds to contemporary studies of neoliberalism by offering an empirical investigation of the production of subjectivity in the context of coworking spaces’ sociality. Coworking spaces are exemplary milieux in which to explore the organisation and significance of work. Drawing on the life history of a creative worker and member of a leading coworking space, I unveil the ethical labour that is required to access coworking’s sociality. Using a Foucauldian framework, I conceptualise this process as a process of subjectivation and concentrate on its ambivalent character, signalling the inherent intertwinement of self-commodification and self-improvement. This article contributes to the scholarly debates on the organisation and significance of work in two key ways. First, it expands our understanding of how the production of subjectivity is experienced at the level of the self. Second, it argues that coworking spaces function as apparatuses for the production of subjectivities in neoliberal culture industries

The effect of User-Generated Content to promote tourism destinations : the importance of perceived authenticity and trust

Nowadays, choosing the right travel destination is not easy. Destinations are numerous, as well as the information available, thanks to Internet and the User-Generated Content shared. Moreover, as a shift towards experiential tourism is taking place, accommodation alone is no longer enough to create an experience. A search for authenticity grows, together with the need to trust that what is advertised is actually real. This thesis aims to examine if destinations can increase their competitive advantage if the destination is advertised with UGC and if the effect on travel and sharing intention would be grater due to the perceived authenticity and trust of the content presented. The hypotheses were tested through an online experimental study using a promotional video created by the firms’ professional or by travellers. The data have been collected through MTurk measuring perceptions of authenticity, trust and travelling and WOM intentions. A significant higher preference for travelling and recommend were showed when the promotional ad was UGC and a mediation effect was found both for trust and authenticity. Four types of travellers were identified, and the perceived authenticity was found to be higher for the Drifter just compared to the Individual Mass Tourist. Our findings can assist travel companies and tourism bodies to promote their destinations by using UGC in their marketing strategy. Such strategies are perceived as more authentic and overcome consumers mistrust in firm generated marketing communications consequently increasing the intention to visit and to recommend. Limitations and future research are also discussed.Hoje em dia, escolher o destino de viagem certo não é fácil. Os destinos são numerosos, assim como a informação disponível, graças à Internet e ao Conteúdo Gerado pelo Utilizador. Além disso, como está a ocorrer uma mudança para o turismo experimental, o alojamento por si só já não é suficiente para criar uma experiência. A procura da autenticidade cresce, juntamente com a necessidade de confiar que o que é anunciado é real. Esta tese visa examinar se os destinos podem aumentar a sua vantagem competitiva se anunciado com a UGC e se o efeito sobre as viagens e a intenção de partilha seria maior, devido à perceção da autenticidade e confiança no conteúdo apresentado. As hipóteses foram testadas através de um estudo experimental em linha utilizando um vídeo promocional criado pelo profissional da empresa ou por viajantes. Os dados foram recolhidos através do MTurk. Foi demonstrada uma preferência significativamente maior por viajar e recomendar quando o anúncio promocional era UGC e foi encontrado um efeito de mediação tanto para a confiança como para a autenticidade. Foram identificados quatro tipos de viajantes, e a percepção da autenticidade foi mais elevada para The Drifter apenas em comparação com Individual Mass Tourist. As nossas conclusões podem ajudar as empresas de viagens e os organismos turísticos a promover os seus destinos, utilizando a UGC na sua estratégia de marketing. As limitações e a investigação futura são também discutidas

Notes on the tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) of Argentina. 117. Contribution towards the knowledge of Cicindelidae

Distributional records of the 71 tiger beetle species and subspecies known for Argentina are given together with a key and habitus photos (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae). Brasiella (Brasiella) cuyabaensis Mandl, 1970 and Brasiella (Gaymara) rotundatodilatata (Horn, 1925) are reported as new for the fauna of Argentina. Brasiella (Brasiella) stamatovi (Sumlin, 1979) is transferred to Cylindera (Plectographa), becoming C. (P.) stamatovi (Sumlin), new combination. Cylindera (Plectographa) siccalacicola (Sumlin, 1979) is placed into synonymy under Cylindera (Plectographa) hassenteufeli (Mandl, 1960), new synonymy. A lectotype is designated for Cylindera (Plectographa) patagonica bergiana (Horn, 1895)

Sexing up the international

This thesis takes sexuality as its subject matter and uses a methodology informed by postcolonial studies to explore new possibilities for thinking about the international, its construction, and its contemporary politics. I argue that postcolonial readings of sexuality can impel us to rethink the meanings and politics of international theory and to challenge notions that have come to appear fixed and unchanging. The thesis canvasses how such an intervention might occur – calling especially for a focus on the local and the everyday – and considers both the utility and the limits of the contributions sexuality might make to a rethinking of international theory. My arguments are made with reference to a series of specific examples from contemporary East and Southeast Asia: the nationalistically imbued gendered and sexed figures of the national serviceman and the Singapore Girl in Singapore; the political and social repercussions of the trial of former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on charges of sodomy; newly emerging homosexual identities in Hong Kong; and the connections between sexuality and disease that inform the Thai response to HIV/AIDS. These case studies exemplify some of the ways in which sexuality can work to recast traditional scholarly understandings of the international. They also illuminate a series of aspects that shape the encounter between sexuality and the international, encompassing issues of nationalism, globalization, metaphor, spatiality and knowledge politics. Through my analysis of these issues, I argue for a broadening out of the source materials that inform knowledge about the international and the pursuit of alternative modes of reading processes of international change and exchange. I contend that scholarship of the international needs to pay more attention to instances where the borders separating everyday, national and international spaces break down, and where we might detect new forms of knowledge about the nature, politics and functioning of the international realm

Electroplating and pvd finishing technologies in the fashion industry: Perspectives and scenarios

This work deals with a comparison between electroplating and Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) finishing technologies applied in the fashion industry, with a special focus on their environmental impacts. The goal of this work is to present and validate a Decision Support System (DSS) allowing companies to identify, through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis, which of the two types of finishing processes is more suitable in comparison with specific KPIs. After an investigation on the literature and an industrial background regarding the two technologies, the model and, in particular, the sequence of activities that were conducted, are presented. Since LCA is an articulated process, requiring specific and adequate skills that are often unavailable within companies operating in this specific sector, a tool that facilitates LCA execution is a requisite. This tool, though potential publicity will facilitate the adoption of these approaches and sustainability as a driver in the selection of different production process strategies

Feminism and the Politics of Creative Labour: Fashion Micro-enterprises in London, Berlin and Milan

This article makes a case for fashion, as part of the creative industries and as a major employer of women, as well as a significant space for self-organised work, to attract more sustained attention on the part of feminist scholars with a view to developing a stronger policy lobby for the sector with priority being given to issues which focus on the quality of livelihoods in the sector. Drawing on interviews and observations carried out within the course of a three year study which investigated working lives of fashion designers (predominantly female) in London, Berlin and Milan, the argument presented emerges from an analysis which focused on two key factors: the impact of adverse economic circumstances following the euro-crisis of 2008 and the role of urban cultural policies in the ability of designers to establish a creative practice. With the help of three provisional, indeed tentative, concepts, each of which relies on questions of space/place, we suggest that this expansive sector contains potential to become a more equitable and socially engaged field, particularly with reference to women’s working lives and through the development of regionalised centres with an emphasis on doing fashion differently