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1 – 10 of 122Feminist research acknowledges the centrality of female knowledge and experience. Within this two further strands can be identified: that many feminist researchers place an…
Abstract
Feminist research acknowledges the centrality of female knowledge and experience. Within this two further strands can be identified: that many feminist researchers place an emphasis on the social construction of meaning, with particular emphasis on the role of language as the primary vehicle of such constructions; and that within the centrality of female knowledge and experience is a feminist analysis of the role of power in determining the form and representation of social knowledge. The latter is an acknowledgement that feminist research is not just an extension of traditional research in non‐sexist ways and areas of relevance to women but that it must entail a critical evaluation of the research process in terms of its ability to illuminate women's experiences. This should comprise three strands — a critique of traditional theories and methods, the development of more appropriate theories and methods for studying the experience of women and the analysis of the role of the researcher within his/her research.
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Agnes Nairn, Christine Griffin and Patricia Gaya Wicks
The paper seeks to offer a critique of the Piagetian developmental cognitive psychology model which dominates research into children and brand symbolism, and to propose consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper seeks to offer a critique of the Piagetian developmental cognitive psychology model which dominates research into children and brand symbolism, and to propose consumer culture theory as an alternative approach. The paper also aims to present the design and interpretation of an empirical study into the roles brands play in the everyday lives of junior school children, which demonstrates the richness of this alternative framework.
Design/methodology/approach
The key literature on children and brand symbolism is reviewed and the main concepts from consumer culture theory are introduced. A two‐stage qualitative study involving 148 children aged 7‐11 is designed using group discussions and a novel cork‐board sorting exercise. Findings from group discussions with 56 children in stage 2 of the study are analysed from a consumer culture theory perspective.
Findings
The analysis focuses on two aspects of the ways in which children use brand symbols in their everyday lives: their fluid interpretations of “cool” in relation to brand symbols, and the constitution of gender in children's talk about iconic brands, notably on “torturing Barbie”.
Research limitations/implications
A key aim of this paper is to critique an existing framework and introduce an alternative perspective, so the analysis offered is necessarily partial at this stage. Future research could also use a consumer culture approach to investigate the role of brands in the everyday lives of children with differential access to financial resources, children from different ethnic groups, and children from different parts of the world.
Originality/value
The introduction of a new framework for researching children and brands offers a host of possibilities for academics and practitioners to understand the effects of brand symbols on the lives of today's children, including a more informed approach to socially responsible marketing. This is also the first study to apply consumer culture theory to children's consumption behaviour. Studying consumption practice from the child's viewpoint offers exciting new angles for the development of this theoretical perspective.
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Isabelle Szmigin, Andrew Bengry‐Howell, Christine Griffin, Chris Hackley and Willm Mistral
Social marketing initiatives designed to address the UK's culture of unhealthy levels of drinking among young adults have achieved inconclusive results to date. The paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
Social marketing initiatives designed to address the UK's culture of unhealthy levels of drinking among young adults have achieved inconclusive results to date. The paper aims to investigate the gap between young people's perceptions of alcohol consumption and those of government agencies who seek to influence their behaviour set within a contextualist framework.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors present empirical evidence from a major study that suggests that the emphasis of recent campaigns on individual responsibility may be unlikely to resonate with young drinkers. The research included a meaning‐based and visual rhetoric analysis of 261 ads shown on TV, in magazines, on billboards and on the internet between 2005 and 2006. This was followed by 16 informal group discussions with 89 young adults in three locations.
Findings
The research identified the importance of the social context of young people's drinking. The research reveals how a moral position has been culturally constructed around positioning heavy drinking as an individual issue with less regard to other stakeholders and how the marketing agents function in this environment. Calls to individual responsibility in drinking are unlikely to succeed in the current marketing environment.
Research limitations/implications
The qualitative research was limited to three geographical locations with young adults between the ages of 18 and 25.
Practical implications
The authors explore implications for social marketing theory and for UK alcohol policy. In particular, the authors suggest that the social norms surrounding young people's drinking need to be acknowledged and built into “sensible” social marketing campaigns. The authors suggest that shame, fear and guilt appeals should be replaced with more constructive methods of ensuring young people's safety when they drink.
Originality/value
From the theoretical perspective of contextualism, the paper brings together empirical research with young adults and a critical analysis of recent social marketing campaigns within the commercial context of a “culture of intoxication”. It provides both a critique of social marketing in a neo‐liberal context and recognition of issues involved in excessive alcohol consumption.
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Purpose – Recent research on the gender culture and femininity of adolescent girls found that girls construct their gender identity in various ways that are intertwined with race…
Abstract
Purpose – Recent research on the gender culture and femininity of adolescent girls found that girls construct their gender identity in various ways that are intertwined with race, ethnicity, social class, and sexual orientation. However, these existing studies focused on either general schoolgirls (see Ali, S. (2003). To be a girl: Culture and class in schools. Gender and Education, 15(3), 269–283; Bettie (2003); Weiler, J. D. (2000). Codes and contradictions: Race, gender identity and schooling. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press; Renold, E. (2005). Girls, boys and junior sexualities: Exploring children's gender and sexual relations in the primary school. London: Routledge) or delinquent girls in a gang (see Miller, J. (1998). Gender and victimization risk among young women in gangs. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 35, 429–453; Miller (2001); Joe-Laidler & Hunt (2001); Schalet, A., Hunt, G., & Joe-Laidler, K. (2003). Respectability and autonomy: The articulation and meaning of sexuality among the girls in the gang. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 32, 108–143; Messerschmidt (1995); Messerschmidt, J. W. (1997). Crime as structured action: Gender, race, class, and crime in the making. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage), and only a few studies paid attention to girls who showed overt oppositional behaviors at school.
Methods – The research uses qualitative methods and explores the gender identity of two adolescent girls in a junior high school in Taiwan, who are regarded as problem or “bad” girls by the school faculty.
Results – The two girls both manifested “ladette” culture (Jackson, 2006). On the one hand, they showed masculine behaviors such as fighting, troublemaking, disobeying school regulations, and using drugs and alcohol. On the other hand, they deliberately emphasized their femininity and sexual maturity in the way they dressed, talked, and behaved.
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The purpose of this paper is to reflect, personally, regarding work, politically and theoretically, on 40 years of involvement in organization studies, profeminism and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reflect, personally, regarding work, politically and theoretically, on 40 years of involvement in organization studies, profeminism and intersectionality.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses autoethnography.
Findings
The paper shows the need for a broad notion of the field and fieldwork, the development of intersectional thinking, the complexity of men's relations to feminism and intersectionality and the need to both name and deconstruct men in the research field.
Research limitations/implications
The paper suggests a more explicit naming and deconstruction of men and other intersectional social categories in doing research.
Practical implications
The paper suggests a more explicit naming and deconstruction of men and other intersectional social categories in equality practice.
Social implications
The paper suggests a more explicit naming and deconstruction of men and other intersectional social categories in social, political and policy interventions.
Originality/value
The paper points to recent historical changes in the connections between feminism, gender, profeminism, organizations and intersectionality in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion.
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Luke Jones, Zoe Avner, Joseph Mills and Simone Magill
Association Football (football) is currently recognised as the world's most popular women's sport (Andersson & Barker-Ruchti, 2019; Dunn & Welford, 2017). In this chapter, we…
Abstract
Association Football (football) is currently recognised as the world's most popular women's sport (Andersson & Barker-Ruchti, 2019; Dunn & Welford, 2017). In this chapter, we build upon a Foucauldian-informed feminist body of work (e.g. Barker-Ruchti & Tinning, 2010; Liao & Markula, 2009; Markula, 2003) to analyse the impact of the ‘shift in approach and purpose’ in the women's game (Rosso, 2010). And, in doing so, seek to explore how the relations of power operating in the context of women's elite and professional football have changed over the last 20 years. Moreover, we consider the implications of these changes for both elite female players and those responsible for their development and welfare. To achieve our aim, we compare the experiences of two players (Christine and Maria, pseudonyms) from opposite ends of the last 20 years, all the while recognising that the partial and situated insights we provide in relation to these shifts are inevitably tied to the intersections of marginalised (female) and privileged (white, able-bodied, heterosexual, middle-class) subject positions.
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Christine Nya-Ling Tan and Muhammad Ashraf Fauzi
This study aims to conduct a complete bibliometric analysis of published research to develop a solid roadmap for future research into developing young adults’ mental health and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to conduct a complete bibliometric analysis of published research to develop a solid roadmap for future research into developing young adults’ mental health and resilience and to further the body of knowledge and scientific advancement in this area.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature search using VOSviewer, through Web of Science, was conducted to identify young adult mental health and resilience studies. A total of 226 studies were identified between 1993 and the end of June 2022, as the number of published studies increased. Extracted data included citation, co-citation, keyword and co-word analyses.
Findings
This study evaluates the current knowledge structure of young adult mental health and resilience through co-citation analysis and discovers the directions and trends of popular topics in young adult mental health and resilience through co-word analysis. It suggests that legislators and physicians should aim to provide social support via screening and interventions, especially for young adults struggling with disruption in their social lives.
Originality/value
Using a bibliometric approach, the findings provide a robust roadmap for further investigation into young adult mental health and resilience evolution. This method will further advance the knowledge and progress of this field, as this research is the first attempt at doing so – to the best of the authors’ knowledge.
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