23 research outputs found
Born Twice: The Role of Social Media in Identity Redefinition after Sudden Disability
No full textFrom being attacked by a shark to being stricken by illness, people who acquire disabilities later in life have unique lived experiences. There is, however, a commonality that binds them: the loss of a former identity and a rebirth into another life. They may also struggle with self-acceptance as they shun societal stigmas and perceived deviance from cultural norms. Through a netnographic study, we examine how identities are redefined with the help of social media. We trace the journey of athletes, influencers, and others experiencing sudden disabilities as they transition from medical facilities to the comfort of their homes. We present the four critical phases toward acceptance of a disabled identity and show the role of social media as a transformative tool for navigating social exclusion and prejudice, as well as being a conduit for self-expression
Hayfa el Mansur, Nappily Ever After (2018): Chasing Perfection
No full text2018 Netflix movie Nappily Ever After voices the relationship of Black women with their natural hair and try to free them from the white beauty ideals imposed by the modern culture. By delving into historical connotations, this film review aims to understand how and why stereotypical narratives about African-American beauty and hair exist in media and shows the societal and psychological consequences of underrepresentation
Knowledge Economy and North Cyprus
No full textAbstractIt is very well known in the knowledge management literature that knowledge has become an engine of social, economic and cultural development in today's world. Involvement of education in economic growth occurs through creation of new knowledge and transfer of knowledge and information. Better educated individuals will later become an innovator or creator of new technology. Schools provide the education necessary to understand this new information and technology. Education is a vital factor for the accumulation of intellectual capital to reach economic growth. As a small developing island with its eleven universities, government assigning education is one of the locomotive sectors of the North Cyprus economy. Today's globalised world, transforming economies from traditional labour based production technique to modern knowledge based production technique is inevitable. Rise of knowledge and technology- intensive jobs and economic activities, investment in knowledge based assets and increasing well qualified and educated workforces indicates the knowledge based economic transformation is necessary and inevitable for rapid economic growth. The main purpose of this paper is to point out knowledge and knowledge based economies and creates both the public and government awareness about knowledge based economy in North Cyprus. The paper also investigates the importance of human capital, intellectual capital and intangible assets in production process and emphasizes the importance of technology based highly productive production systems and their impact on economic development. The study will be a reference to other small economies as well
Extending the diversity conversation: Fashion consumption experiences of underrepresented and underserved women
No full textThis research brings in the voice of underserved and underrepresented women of various racial or ethnic origins and social classes, who have differing buying powers, sexual orientations, body shapes, and physical appearances, into the conversation of fashion diversity. Through a qualitative inquiry with 38 semi-structured in-depth interviews, the researchers analyzed the consumption experiences of diverse women to expose what the fashion scene is lacking. The study\u27s main contribution is the depiction of overlooked diversity categories in fashion, such as the non-White and non-Black women of color, women of average sizes, and women with characteristics that the fashion industry has long seen as flaws. For women\u27s physical and psychological well-being, the authors of this study hope to lead fashion producers and researchers into a new era of diversity and minimize certain consumer groups\u27 exclusion through discrimination, isolation, and segregation
Health commodified, health communified: navigating digital consumptionscapes of well-being
No full text
Purpose
Historically, research on perceptions of health either converged upon the meanings created and proposed by specialists in the healthcare industry or focused on people who have medical conditions. This approach has failed to capture how the meanings and notions of health have been evolving as medicine extends into non-medical spheres and has left gaps in the exploration of how the meanings surrounding health and well-being are constructed, negotiated and reproduced in lay discourse. This paper aims to fill this gap in the understanding of the perceptions surrounding health by investigating consumers’ digitized visual accounts on social media.
Design/methodology/approach
Textual network and visual content analyses of posts extracted from Instagram are used to derive conclusions on definitions of health and well-being as perceived by healthy lay individuals.
Findings
Research demonstrates that digital discourse of health is clustered around four F’s, namely, food, fitness, fashion and feelings, which can be categorized with respect to their degrees of representation on a commodification/communification versus bodily/spiritual well-being map.
Originality/value
Our knowledge about the meanings of health as constructed and reflected by healthy lay people is very limited and even more so about how these meaning-making processes is realized through digital media. This paper contributes to theory by integrating consumers’ meaning-making literature into health perceptions, as well as investigating the role of social networks in enabling a consumptionscape of well-being. Besides a methodological contribution of using social network analysis on textual data, this paper also provides valuable insights for policy-makers, communicators and professionals of health.
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The Impact of Ethical Concerns on Fashion Consumerism: Case-based Evidence
No full textIn continuation of our previous work, “The Impact of Ethical Concerns on Fashion Consumerism: A Review,” we present here empirically based reports to support our argument that ethical concerns in the fashion industry affect consumer behavior. In line with Paper I, the initial paper of this series, we address the concept of ethical marketing, with a focus on the two dimensions of sustainable environmental practices and societally appropriate messaging. The linkages of ethical concerns in fashion with corporate image and financial performance are explored, using a set of 15 real-life cases and anecdotes. We identify challenges in this area, offer guidance to practitioners in the field, and identify venues for further scholarly inquiry. We hope to contribute in this important and growing area of concern by presenting prior controversies and highlighting best practices, thus facilitating the process of learning through others’ failures and successes
The Impact of Ethical Concerns on Fashion Consumerism: A Review
No full textEthical and sustainable business practices have become some of the most significant concerns in the highly globalized fashion industry. Firms in this multi-billion dollar industry are taking these concerns seriously, and are carefully monitoring and responding to consumers’ actions that can range from expressing displeasure via social media to holding protests or even calling for boycotts of certain brands and firms. In this paper, the first output from a larger project on ethics of fashion, we review the extant literature on the ethical aspects of the global fashion system; and set the stage for further empirical and conceptual work
Social Credibility: Trust Formation in Social Commerce
No full textTrust formation in informal social commerce, also considered lateral exchange markets (LEMs) on social media platforms, has different dynamics from e-commerce and traditional consumerto‐ consumer (C2C) exchange. These online markets are massive in scale; thus, it is an important phenomenon in consumer research. With a holistic perspective, we conducted in-depth interviews with Instagram consumers and sellers. Our research is among the first to reveal an empirical understanding of the critical dynamics of trust formation in LEMs within social commerce and contribute to theory by introducing a novel dimension termed social credibility. Social credibility surpasses the source credibility evaluations one step further from assessing the source itself to assess the credibility of the individuals who contribute to the source\u27s reputation, such as reviewers, followers, and customers. Thus, we define social credibility as customers’ assessments of LEM sellers’ credibility through perceived homophily with other reviewers, followers, and customers
Faux Feminism in a Capitalistic Fever Dream: A Review of Greta Gerwig\u27s Barbie (2023)
No full textSomewhere between meaningful discourse about female agency and the commercial interests of a problematic doll franchise lies Mattel\u27s box office hit film Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig. In a script-flipping interpretation of the real-world patriarchy, it catapults itself into overdue discussions about gender norms, objectification, and the pursuit of Westernized beauty ideals. While it may have introduced liberationist theories to a new generation of women, ultimately it is a film bound by cognitive dissonance. This paper will delve into the profit-making protagonist at the center of its story and argue the film\u27s underlying incompatibility with diversity, feminism, and social progress
Transformative Netnography: Combining Representation, Social Media, and Participatory Action Research
No full textHow can systems science researchers leverage qualitative social media research methods to address cultural and social issues in a way that involves participants and researchers working together? To address this question, this paper proposes transformative netnography, an adaptation of netnography that combines social media representational affordances with participatory action research techniques to offer unique communication benefits for transformational research. It examines some of the practical and theoretical underpinnings that have guided various forms of action research and links them to representational concerns and qualitative social media research. The paper proceeds to present a detailed example of transformative netnography that pioneers the use of social media’s accessibility, organizational, and consciousness-raising affordances, combining them with collaborative ethnography to create a novel and digitally enabled form of representative advocacy research. The paper concludes with some implications for further transformative research using social media affordances and the ongoing development of transformative netnography
