Search results for "consumerism"

Ethical consumerism: a view from Finland

2004

Business ethics and corporate social responsibility have gained more attention in recent years. However, the consumers’ perspective on ethics is still a little researched area. This study reports a survey ( n = 713) on the views of Finnish consumers about ethics in trade. Consumers’ willingness to promote business ethics as well as the obstacles to ethical consumption are investigated. The results of the study show that while the majority of the respondents regard business ethics as important, this attitude does not translate into their choice behaviour. Consumers are uncertain about which products and firms follow ethical rules and which do not. The most important obstacles to ethical cons…

Dimensions of cosmopolitanism and their influence on political consumption: an analysis focused on Spanish consumers

2013

The purpose of this study was to confirm the hypothesis that political consumption ‐ a form of consumerism whose importance has increased during the past few years ‐ can be considered a form of critical action, and that cosmopolitanism contributes to its development. The main objective was, first, to analyse an unexplored dimension of political consumption and, second, to obtain a measurement proposal for what some authors have called ordinary cosmopolitanism. The study, based on a survey, was divided into three sections. The first section offers a theoretical introduction to the study proposal. The second describes the hypothesis and the data analysis strategy, and proposes an operationali…

Organic consumption and consumer participation in food community networks

2012

Due to improvements in welfare, new food consumption concerns have emerged in Europe. Such concerns go beyond issues related to food safety and market prices. Solidarity Purchasing Groups (GASs) are one way to combine utilitarian and ethical aspects: in these groups the trade in organic products predominates. The aim of GAS groups is to primarily develop a local economy which is both ethical and fair, providing networks of economic solidarity through social relations and economic-territorial districts. This paper sets out to determine the profiles of the consumer groups that constitute GASs in Sicily (southern Italy) in order to search for key elements of the movement in terms of both commu…

IL CONSUMERISMO NELLA SOCIETA' POSTMODERNA E LE RETI AGROALIMENTARI ALTERNATIVE IN SICILIA.

2012

Consumer’s participation in the local organic box schemes in England: Is it about ethics?

Local economies and consumer participation: the organic food fairs

2012

New consumption habits stand out against the idea of a rational consumer, which is aimed at maximizing utility according to budget constraint. Presently, people have the tendency to behave differently according to various purchase opportunities; a significant role is played by both ethical sides and selfless motivations. These new trends fall within the context of a new social paradigm that foresees postmodern society’s rise. Consumers have the tendency to use the market as an arena in which political, ethical and environmental issues may arise, starting a new trend of an alternative consumption called “political consumerism”. In this paper we’ll try to understand how new consumption habits…

Children with their dreams – what kind of reveries are accepted in school context?

2011

The media and the contemporary consumer culture are central categories in modern childhood. They have opened new kinds of experiences and learning situations for children. In this article we are interested in the role of the media and consumption in schoolchildren's daily life. The data consist of writings and drawings of 7–12-year-old schoolchildren. Children have told us about their dreams, social worlds and doings in the mediated world. By asking children about all these things we are most likely able to find out how modern childhood and the learning situations in the class are influenced by the media and consumer goods. It is important to analyse children's experiences in the virtual en…

Human Soul, Body and Life Horizons

2013

Phenomenology of life develops an essential transformation of the positioning of life, human being, soul and life horizons. Human soul reflects the passions of the earth and of the skies. There are two directions characteristic for the soul – upward and downward. Life horizons are closely connected with life forms, styles of living. It has been described in rather different cultures including post-modern culture. This paper deals with A.-T. Tymieniecka’s ideas about the New Enlightenment and critique of too narrow an explanation of human subjectivity and body and discusses the need for balance between soul’s directions and decreasing of materialistic, consumerism life form, orientations to …

Australian Modernist Theatre and Patrick White’s the Ham Funeral (1961 [1947])

2017

For a considerable period of time, literary Modernism has been mainly associated with the study of the novel and poetry rather than drama perhaps due to New Criticism’s emphasis on the text and disregard of performance. This profound anti-theatrical thrust of Modernism has to be, most certainly, re-examined and reassessed, particularly within the context of Australian literature and, more specifically, Australian theatre. That Australian modernist theatre has been inconspicuous on the world stage seems to be an obvious and undisputable statement of facts. Yet, with Patrick White, English-born but Australian-bred 1976 Nobel Prize winner for literature, Australian low-brow uneasy mix of Briti…

An Ethnographic Exploration of Southern Norwegian Second-Hand Cultures

2019

Master's thesis Global development and planning UT506 - University of Agder 2019 n this era of online shops and big retail shops, second-hand markets still exist in many places, including in Norway. Second-hand markets in this thesis consist of flea markets and second-hand shops. Flea markets open in spring, summer, and autumn in Southern Norway. These markets are established by various communities, clubs, and organizations. Some flea markets are also opened by individuals. On the other hand, thrift shops or bruktbutikker open through year. Second-hand shops are also established by non-profit organizations or individuals. This study explores the culture of second-hand marketsin Southern Nor…