The lived experiences of women as addictive consumers

Addictive consumption is an extreme form of consumer behaviour which, until recently, has been relatively unexplored and understudied. Addictive consumers buy for motives unrelated to the actual possession of the goods, and most purchases remain unused. Feelings of anticipation and excitement prior to and during the shopping experience are replaced by guilt and shame afterwards. Patterns of behavior are developed and maintained in secret over a period of time. This paper presents the results of a study of forty-six women in the UK who identified themselves as addictive consumers. Through phenomenological interviews, they describe their thoughts and experiences both within the shopping environment and in their everyday lives. A rich picture of the reality of being an addictive consumer emerges, not only in terms of the consumption activity but also the precursors to, the consequences, and the means of self-managing the activity. Addictive consumers are presented here as women who have adopted what is traditionally considered to be a male-based mechanism for coping with depression or unsatisfactory situations -that is, doing something rather than thinking about their problems. These women have chosen to engage in a familiar, enjoyable and socially acceptable activity, shopping, to gain some kind of control in their lives. Paradoxically, the activity is developed and maintained to such an extent that it controls them. The consumption behavior itself is almost identical in each case, but addictive consumers are not a homogeneous group. Four patterns or sub-groups of addictive consumers emerge - the existential addict, the revenge addict, the mood repair addict and the serial addict

The lived experiences of women as addictive consumers

Addictive consumption is an extreme form of consumer behaviour which, until recently, has been relatively unexplored and understudied. Addictive consumers buy for motives unrelated to the actual possession of the goods, and most purchases remain unused. Feelings of anticipation and excitement prior to and during the shopping experience are replaced by guilt and shame afterwards. Patterns of behavior are developed and maintained in secret over a period of time. This paper presents the results of a study of forty-six women in the UK who identified themselves as addictive consumers. Through phenomenological interviews, they describe their thoughts and experiences both within the shopping environment and in their everyday lives. A rich picture of the reality of being an addictive consumer emerges, not only in terms of the consumption activity but also the precursors to, the consequences, and the means of self-managing the activity. Addictive consumers are presented here as women who have adopted what is traditionally considered to be a male-based mechanism for coping with depression or unsatisfactory situations -that is, doing something rather than thinking about their problems. These women have chosen to engage in a familiar, enjoyable and socially acceptable activity, shopping, to gain some kind of control in their lives. Paradoxically, the activity is developed and maintained to such an extent that it controls them. The consumption behavior itself is almost identical in each case, but addictive consumers are not a homogeneous group. Four patterns or sub-groups of addictive consumers emerge - the existential addict, the revenge addict, the mood repair addict and the serial addict

Reflecting on Leadership: Higher Education Academy Recognition and Academics as Effective Leaders

This study explores how the process of applying for Senior or Principal Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) supports reflection on leadership practice and development. Such reflection may utilise a number of resources, prompts and artefacts, which support reflection in and reflection on practice. Academics ranging from Programme Leaders to Vice Chancellors with Senior or Principal Fellowship recognition participated in an online survey and a small number were also interviewed face-to-face. The results suggest that the requirement to reflect on one’s own leadership strengthens self-awareness and effectiveness as a leader, thus supporting and encouraging excellent education practice at personal, institutional and sector level

"Just taste this - what do you think?".

This paper explores how the sensory attributes of local food brands contribute to brand meaning. It is part of a wider study exploring the tangibility of brand meaning of local food brands. Through the development of a conceptual framework derived from Hirschman’s ‘layers of meaning’ (1980; 1998), research was conducted with consumers living in Dorset, UK. This study has a specific sensory focus, revealing that taste was the most dominant sense, with consumers going to some length to describe their tasting experiences. Taste may operate in a direct sensory capacity (afferent) and connect with other senses and associations in a multi-sensory (efferent) capacity. Consumers accept the notion of sensual incongruence

Student Perceptions and Institutional Targets: the matches and mismatches of financial bursary support

Bursary support in Higher Education (HE) helps to enable students from widening participation (WP) backgrounds to more fully engage with their university experiences on an equal basis to their peers. But whilst such support is intended to enhance access to HE, aid retention and increase academic success (which can be monitored using existing institutional data), less is understood about student perceptions of this support. To address this gap, studies are required that investigate both the student experience of receiving financial assistance and, crucially, the mode by which that assistance is delivered: the latter impinging directly on student experience. The survey in this paper used a single UK university in which a range of financial assistance is provided, including bursary funds and hardship funds, and where a significant proportion of students are from WP backgrounds. A mixed methods approach was adopted comprising an online questionnaire, in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus groups. The findings suggest that receiving financial assistance has a positive impact. However, three areas emerged where the administration and impact of financial support could be improved: pre-financial support to better ascertain the nature and level of bursary and any non-financial complementary support required by individual students; embedded financial mentoring to help students with budgeting and addressing any non-financial issues such as stress, academic performance and low confidence; and post-financial guidance to support students towards longer-term financial independence and stability. Improvements in student support could be achieved through strategic amendments to current provision that addresses the three areas noted but, as this study suggests, perhaps more-so by considering the modality of the bursary provision

Intercultural capability: exploring first year HE students' reflections on and experiences of their higher education experience

This round table discussion presents the initial stages of a cross-institution project exploring the reflections and expectations of first year international and home students. This study aims to capture students' early experiences in higher education (HE), their sense of 'belonging' and development of intercultural capabilities embedded in international-home student interactions. This is the first study to adopt Sen's (1992) 'capability approach' as a means of framing exploration of these intercultural capabilities. Results are intended to shed light on the processual development of intercultural capabilities during students' first year in HE, and their perceptions of how these contribute to their employability. Although this discussion is based on one joint proposal developed by the research team, several themes emerge which may be of interest to HE academics and practitioners concerning 'Student Experiences', 'Employability, Enterprise and Graduate Careers' and 'Learning, Teaching and Assessment'

Risk and Stigma: Students’ Perceptions and Disclosure of ‘Disability’ in Higher Education.

There is a focus on increasing the numbers of students with disabilities to apply to and study in Higher Education (HE). Despite sector-wide criteria regarding what comprises a disability, there are still students who do not disclose a disability at the application stage. This study sought to explore perceptions of students across one UK university regarding their views and experiences of a range of disabilities and reasons why a disability may not be disclosed on application to HE. The findings suggest a lack of understanding regarding what constitutes a disability, and concerns that disclosure will negatively impact upon the application decision and disadvantage the student. This paper highlights the disconnect between the support that universities can provide to students with a disability and the perceptions that some students have about the disadvantages that disclosure can bring. The findings support initiatives at policy and practice level across the sector to recognise and address perceptions and experiences of risk and stigma that applicants may have but at the same time highlight that more needs to be done to reduce the anxieties and lack of clarity that some students experience

Globelongers’ - Inspiring, Intrepid International Students

This small-scale study explored the lives and experiences of a group of international students in terms of how and why they chose to study at a UK university and how they felt they ‘fitted in’ with their cohort, programme and the wider institution. Through focus groups and individual interviews, what emerged was a community of ‘globelongers’ – students who belong wherever they are – adventurous, open-minded and inspiring. These students have the independence and confidence to seek out and maximise all opportunities available to them, to mix with a broad range of other students and to fit in to any social or academic situation. The study contributes to our understanding of the importance of ‘belonging’ as part of the transition into (and through) higher education and provides insights for practitioners in terms of further understanding and supporting all students at this important stage of their academic career

Reclaiming Our Universities: A Manifesto to Dismantle the UK HE Sector Neoliberal Agenda

This article is a response to the introduction of the Higher Education and Research Act (HERA) 2017, which in effect opens the door to privatised, deregulated Higher Education (HE) across the UK. The Act allows private for-profit companies, from their inception, to use the university title (previous legislation required a waiting period of four years), award degrees, and charge unregulated fees: they will not be required to establish or fund student unions. This is, we argue, the neoliberal project in action. As publicly-funded universities in the UK struggle to meet politically-driven imperatives such as the Research Excellence Framework, the Teaching Excellence Framework, audits, metrics and other performance indicators, new for-profit funded universities are emerging which position themselves as meeting industry and student expectations, rather than as centres for the creation, dissemination and research of knowledge. The only challenges to the hegemony of Universities UK (UUK), regulation of universities, and the governing bodies of pre-92 universities have come from individual academics and students, via UCU industrial action in defence of academic staff pensions. Strikes in 61 UK universities in 2018 were widely seen as a watershed in HE activism. Against this backdrop, an ideologically-driven, neoliberal agenda has begun to dismantle publicly-funded HE in England and Wales. To demonstrate this, we develop an interactive model predicated on the DNA double helix, where we illustrate links between government Acts and regulations and the concomitant dismantling of public sector education. Based on the review of over 140 government instruments, we argue the model represents the backbone of the neoliberal project which is intended to privatise all areas of education in the UK. To challenge this neoliberal agenda, we propose a manifesto to reclaim HE in England and Wales. Whilst in part the manifesto is based on the premise that a Labour government will be elected within the next 5 years, this is not a prerequisite for reclaiming our universities. The manifesto seeks to establish University Community Cooperatives — collegiate, collaborative spaces of knowledge creation. Our analysis of the current political landscape in England and Wales, in light of recent activism within HE, leads us to be optimistic. We argue that it is possible, through the efforts of individuals, collectives, unions and all citizens concerned with, and in, HE to work together to achieve truly inclusive, democratic, communities of learning. These communities will reclaim universities, organise, and act for the benefit of civic society. Staff and student unions have come together in common cause to challenge the neoliberal university model, rendering them the power to dismantle the neoliberal agenda; our manifesto seeks to contribute to the struggle to reject neoliberal realism and reclaim our universities.Cet article constitue une réponse au vote par le Parlement britannique du Higher Education and Research Act (HERA) en 2017, qui a pour effet de d’ouvrir la voie à un enseignement supérieur privatisé et dérégulé au Royaume-Uni. Cette loi permet à des entreprises privées à but lucratif, dès leur création, d’utiliser le titre d’université (là où elles devaient jusqu’ici attendre quatre années pour le faire), de délivrer des diplômes et de demander des droits d’inscription en dehors de tout cadre réglementaire. Elles n’ont aucune obligation de créer ou de financer des syndicats étudiants. Selon nous, il s’agit ici d’une mise en œuvre du projet néolibéral. Alors que les universités publiques du Royaume-Uni peinent à atteindre les objectifs qui leur sont fixés par le gouvernement à travers le Research Excellence Framework, le Teaching Excellence Framework ou d’autres indicateurs de performance, de nouvelles universités à but lucratif émergent, qui se positionnent comme apportant des réponses aux attentes des entreprises et des étudiants, et non comme des centres pour la création, la dissémination et la recherche du savoir. Les seules oppositions à l’hégémonie de l’organisation patronale Universities UK (UUK) et aux directions des universités sont venues d’initiatives individuelles d’universitaires et d’étudiants qui se sont engagés dans le mouvement de grève lancé par le syndicat UCU pour défendre les retraites des universitaires. Les grèves qui ont eu lieu dans 61 universités au Royaume-Uni au printemps 2018 ont été généralement perçues comme marquant une inflexion dans le militantisme dans l’enseignement supérieur. C’est sur un tel arrière-plan qu’un programme néolibéral, au contenu idéologiquement marqué, s’emploie à démanteler l’enseignement supérieur public en Angleterre et au Pays de Galles. Pour en apporter la démonstration, nous proposons un modèle interactif reprenant la double hélice de l’ADN, qui permet d’illustrer les liens entre action législative et réglementaire gouvernementale, d’une part, et démantèlement concomitant de l’éducation publique, de l’autre. Ce modèle permet de représenter la structure du projet néolibéral, dont nous pouvons affirmer, après examen de plus de 140 mesures mises en œuvre par les gouvernements successifs, qu’il vise à privatiser l’ensemble du secteur de l’éducation au Royaume-Uni. Pour résister à ce programme néolibéral, nous proposons un manifeste visant à la réappropriation de l’enseignement supérieur en Angleterre et au Pays de Galles. Même si ce manifeste repose en partie sur l’hypothèse d’un retour au pouvoir des travaillistes dans les 5 prochaines années, ce n’est pas une condition nécessaire à la réappropriation de nos universités. Ce manifeste envisage la création d’universités coopératives — ou coopératives des communautés universitaires — c’est-à-dire des espaces collégiaux et coopératifs de création du savoir. Notre analyse du paysage politique actuel en Angleterre et au Pays de Galles, menée à la lumière du militantisme qui s’est fait jour dans l’enseignement supérieur, nous permet d’être optimistes. Nous affirmons qu’il est possible, en unissant les forces des individus, des collectifs, des syndicats et de l’ensemble des citoyens concernés par l’enseignement supérieur, d’œuvrer à la création de communautés d’enseignement véritablement inclusives et démocratiques. De telles communautés se réapproprieront les universités, s’organiseront collectivement et agiront pour le bien commun. Les syndicats de personnel et d’étudiants ont fait cause commune pour résister au modèle de l’université néolibérale, se donnant ainsi les forces de démanteler le programme néolibéral. Notre manifeste constitue un apport à cette lutte visant à rejeter la raison néolibérale et à se réapproprier nos universités