Understanding myth in consumer culture theory

This paper provides an understanding of the multidisciplinary synthesising of myth conceptualisation in consumer culture theory.Mythology is an umbrella term that has been used in a variety of forms and interpretations. This review draws from psychology, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, literary criticism, history and political studies to examine the historical and discursive constructions of mythology. We distinguish multiple perspectives of mythology and demonstrate how exemplars of each are used in consumer research. Finally, we suggest new directions for mythology that pertain to consumer culture research

Physical and virtual water transfers for regional water stress alleviation in China

Water can be redistributed through, in physical terms, water transfer projects and virtually, embodied water for the production of traded products. Here, we explore whether such water redistributions can help mitigate water stress in China. This study, for the first time to our knowledge, both compiles a full inventory for physical water transfers at a provincial level and maps virtual water flows between Chinese provinces in 2007 and 2030. Our results show that, at the national level, physical water flows because of the major water transfer projects amounted to 4.5% of national water supply, whereas virtual water flows accounted for 35% (varies between 11% and 65%at the provincial level) in 2007. Furthermore, our analysis shows that both physical and virtualwater flows do not play a major role in mitigating water stress in the water-receiving regions but exacerbate water stress for the water-exporting regions of China. Future water stress in the main water-exporting provinces is likely to increase further based on our analysis of the historical trajectory of the major governing socioeconomic and technical factors and the full implementation of policy initiatives relating to water use and economic development. Improving water use efficiency is key to mitigating water stress, but the efficiency gains will be largely offset by the water demand increase caused by continued economic development. We conclude that much greater attention needs to be paid to water demand management rather than the current focus on supply-oriented management

A Rubbish Idea: The material dump, and casting trash talk in a new light

Inspired by the trash-art creations of artists such as Tim Noble and Sue Webster, this creative article-assemblage was gathered together over several months by the UNNC Litter Lovers collective. The aleatoric article attempts to provocatively explore alternative ways of thinking about (or with) trash, modern life and recycling. The article is formed by found, chanced upon, and recycled fragments of used cultural material, at times united by original-organic discussions and catalytic ideas, but ultimately demands the intellectual light of the reader to cast the concepts into relief. The collective utilises form and content to generate new ways of seeing and thinking about waste and rubbish, and like the actual trash heaps and trash-art that inspired this work, they attempt to show how matter itself and (used) material is not inert and passive but rather vibrant, expressive and alive: boasting productive powers and forces capable of bringing about unforeseen reactions and new forms of synthesis. The article is designed to ignite new processes within, between, across and ‘below’ the chaotically assembled fragments. The piece is in part motivated by a drive to ethically recycle in an inspiring and creative way, and be part of new things emerging out of the old. This alternative intellectual happening is also in part designed to help people ‘clean’ their collective conscience and learn to 'love rubbish.' We hope that this is in part achieved by de-centering the human, and foregrounding a polysemous concept of the material dump that forces readers to reinterrogate everyday (non-thought) notions of waste, nature, (human) resources, thought and art.Additional co-author: the UNNC Litter Lovers (a creative academic collective

A Rubbish Idea: The material dump, and casting trash talk in a new light

Inspired by the trash-art creations of artists such as Tim Noble and Sue Webster, this creative article-assemblage was gathered together over several months by the UNNC Litter Lovers collective. The aleatoric article attempts to provocatively explore alternative ways of thinking about (or with) trash, modern life and recycling. The article is formed by found, chanced upon, and recycled fragments of used cultural material, at times united by original-organic discussions and catalytic ideas, but ultimately demands the intellectual light of the reader to cast the concepts into relief. The collective utilises form and content to generate new ways of seeing and thinking about waste and rubbish, and like the actual trash heaps and trash-art that inspired this work, they attempt to show how matter itself and (used) material is not inert and passive but rather vibrant, expressive and alive: boasting productive powers and forces capable of bringing about unforeseen reactions and new forms of synthesis. The article is designed to ignite new processes within, between, across and ‘below’ the chaotically assembled fragments. The piece is in part motivated by a drive to ethically recycle in an inspiring and creative way, and be part of new things emerging out of the old. This alternative intellectual happening is also in part designed to help people ‘clean’ their collective conscience and learn to 'love rubbish.' We hope that this is in part achieved by de-centering the human, and foregrounding a polysemous concept of the material dump that forces readers to reinterrogate everyday (non-thought) notions of waste, nature, (human) resources, thought and art

Aerogel Waveplates

Optical transmission measurements were made on 98% porosity silica aerogel samples under various degrees of uniaxial strain. Uniaxially compressed aerogels exhibit large birefringence, proportional to the amount of compression, up to the 15% strain studied. The birefringence is mostly reversible and reproducible through multiple compression-decompression cycles. Our study demonstrates that uniaxially strained high porosity aerogels can be used as tunable waveplates in a broad spectral range.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Optics Expres

Foods advertised in US weekly supermarket sales circulars over one year: a content analysis

BACKGROUND: The nutritional content of Americans’ shopping carts is suboptimal despite federal dietary guidance, in this case, the MyPlate consumer icon which displays desired proportions of vegetables, fruits, dairy, grains and protein foods for consumption. Consumers mention print advertising—such as weekly sales circulars—frequently as influencing their grocery shopping decisions. METHODS: To examine and describe the relative proportions of advertised foods aggregated into the MyPlate food grouping system, a content analysis of 9 209 foods advertised in 52 weekly supermarket newspaper sales inserts in 2009 from a local grocery chain was conducted in a Midwestern community. RESULTS: Overall, the protein foods group was most often represented in sales circulars (25% of total items), followed by grains (18%); dairy (10%); vegetables (8%) and fruits (7%). Less than 3% of sales advertisements were for dark green and red & orange vegetables. Over twice as much whole fruit versus 100% fruit juice was advertised (70% vs. 30%, respectively; P < 0.001). Significantly fewer protein foods and more grains than expected were advertised in the fall, and slightly more dark green vegetables were advertised in winter and spring than in summer and fall (P = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The average American diet, including underconsumption of fruits and vegetables but overconsumption of protein foods, was reflected in the relative frequency of food groups advertised in weekly sales circulars. Modifying sales circulars to represent healthier food groups may preserve retail profits (considering these groups’ higher profit margin) while promoting adherence to federal dietary guidance

“THE FASHIONS OF THE CURRENT SEASON”: RECENT CRITICAL WORK ON VICTORIAN SENSATION FICTION

This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Victorian Literature and Culture and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1017/S106015031600072

The top 100 global water questions: Results of a scoping exercise

YesGlobal water security presents a complex problem for human societies and will become more acute as the impacts of climate change escalate. Water security connects the practical water and sanitation challenges of households to the dynamics of global hydroclimates and ecosystems in the Anthropocene. To ensure the successful deployment of attention and resources, it is necessary to identify the most pressing questions for water research. Here, we present the results of a scoping exercise conducted across the global water sector. More than 400 respondents submitted an excess of 4,000 potential questions. Drawing on expert analysis, we highlight 100 indicative research questions across six thematic domains: water and sanitation for human settlements; water and sanitation safety risk management; water security and scarcity; hydroclimate-ecosystem-Anthropocene dynamics; multi-level governance; and knowledge production. These questions offer an interdisciplinary and multi-scalar framework for guiding the nature and space of water research for the coming decades