Magic, Culture and the New Economy


Book Description

What happens when economies 'heat up'? This book looks at the 1990s, years of intense economic experimentation, when buzz words such as 'network society', 'the experience economy', 'creative cities' and 'glocalization' were everywhere. A fascinating perspective on 'The New Economy' emerges as the authors explore the worlds of coolhunters, biotech brokers, career coaches, software entrepreneurs and event managers and tackle such questions as: - how is magic used in the quest for newness and change? - what happens when cultural techniques such as branding and styling colonize new arenas? - what turns out to be just a flash-in-the-pan and what has a lasting impact? This book is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand how economies operate in periods of rapid transformation.




Magic, Culture, and the New Economy


Book Description

What happens when economies 'heat up'? This book looks at the 1990s, years of intense economic experimentation, when buzz words such as 'network society', 'the experience economy', 'creative cities' and 'glocalization' were everywhere. A fascinating perspective on 'The New Economy' emerges as the authors explore the worlds of coolhunters, biotech brokers, career coaches, software entrepreneurs and event managers. This book is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand how economies operate in periods of rapid transformation.




Staging Fashion


Book Description

The fashion show and its spaces are sites of otherness, representing everything from rebellion and excess through to political and social activism. This conceptual and stylistic variety is reflected in the spaces they occupy, whether they are staged in an industrial warehouse, on a city street, or out in the open landscape. Staging Fashion is the first collection of essays about the presentation and staging of fashion in runway shows in the period from the 1960s to the 2010s. It offers a fresh perspective on the many collaborations between artists, architects and interior designers to reinforce their interdisciplinary links. Fashion, architecture and interiors share many elements, including design, history, material culture, aesthetics and trends. The research and ideas underpinning Staging Fashion address how fashion and the spatial fields have collaborated in the creation of the space of the fashion show. The 15 essays are written by fashion, interior, architecture and design scholars focusing on the presentation of fashion within the runway space, from avant-garde practices and collaboration with artists, to the most spectacular and commercial shows of recent years, from Prada to Chanel.




The Magic of Organization


Book Description

Exploring magic as a creative necessity in contemporary business, this book clarifies the differences between magic as an organizational resource and magic as fakery, pretence and manipulation. Using this lens, it highlights insights into the relationship between anthropology and business, and organizational studies.




Managing Overflow in Affluent Societies


Book Description

“It is simply too much” is a common complaint of the modern age. This book looks at how people and institutions deal with overflow - of information, consumption or choices. The essays explore the ways in which notions of overflow – framed in terms of excess and abundance or their implicit opposites, scarcity and dearth – crop up in a number of contexts such as sociological and economic theory, management consulting, consumer studies, and the politics of everyday life. Chapters range from studies of overload at home, at work or in the world of cyber information; strategies of coping with overflow in institutions such as news agencies; and historical comparisons. When, where, how and for whom is overflow a problem or a blessing?




International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies


Book Description

Organization studies, although a relatively recent notion, has roots that go back at least to the early days of the twentieth century. The study of how people construct organizations, how they use the structures, processes, and practices that they have designed, and how these, in turn, use people, organize social relations, construct institutions, organize them, and, consecutively, enable them to organize us—has matured along multiple fronts. Over the last two decades more diverse approaches, drawing on more qualitative and ethnographic styles of research, have predominated. This Encyclopedia represents both the older and the newer styles of work, with their respective concerns. The International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies is the definitive description of the field, spanning individual, organizational, societal, and cultural perspective in a cross-disciplinary manner. The old model of a North American core exporting its domain assumptions to the rest of the world, while by no means absent, is less marked than it used to be. Thus, editors Stewart R. Clegg and James R. Bailey have sought to capture much of the cutting-edge thinking that characterizes the best scholarship—in the United States and elsewhere. The Encyclopedia is thoroughly cross-referenced, and entries are based around a series of broad themes. Key Features Offers a comprehensive overview of many of the major ideas, concepts, terms, and approaches that characterize this diverse field of organization studies Illustrates the fluidity, dynamism, and innovation that now occur in organization studies—internationally Brings together a team of international contributors from the fields of management, psychology, sociology, communications, education, political science, public administration, anthropology, law, and other related areas Examines how organizations are devices for structuring life and lives are structured by organizations Key Themes Approaches to Organization Theory Approaches to Management Theory Culture and Symbolism Human Resource Management International Approaches Issues in Organization Practices Issues in Organizational Structure Innovation and Creativity Knowledge and Learning Leadership Theory Organizational Behavior Organizational Cognition, Change, and Communication Organizational Economics Organizational Relations Organizational Power, Politics, and Conflict Philosophy of Organizations Research Practice and Methodology Social Issues Teams Technologies The International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies is the premier reference tool for students, educators, scholars, and practitioners to gather knowledge about a range of important topics from the unique perspective of organization studies with extensive international representation.




Spas


Book Description

From 17th-century Sweden to the present time, this remarkable volume provides a historical perspective on the manner in which hospitality has developed from a private right and obligation to a commercialized product. Examining the ways religion, belief, and notions of health and wellness have been intertwined in the world of spas, this account argues for an appreciation of the role that magic, serenity, and rejuvenation play as a facilitator of economic processes and as a source of perceptions of health. Aimed at advanced students and scholars, this record will interest those in the fields of anthropology, hospitality, and sociology.




Food Industry


Book Description

Due to the increase in world population (more than seven billion inhabitants) the global food industry has the largest number of demanding and knowledgeable consumers. This population requires food products that fulfill the high quality standards established by the food industry organizations. Food shortages threaten human health, and also the disastrous extreme climatic events make food shortages even worse. This collection of articles is a timely contribution to issues relating to the food industry. The objective of this book is to provide knowledge appropriate for students, university researchers, and in general, for anyone wishing to obtain knowledge of food processing and to improve the food product quality.




The Church of Stop Shopping and Religious Activism


Book Description

"A captivating exploration of the radical grassroots performance community, the Stop Shopping Church, that bridges the critique of postindustrial North American consumer capitalism and theories and methods in the Study of Religion"--




Ethnographies of Conferences and Trade Fairs


Book Description

This anthology is an attempt to make sense of conferences and trade fairs as phenomena in contemporary society. The authors describe how these large-scale professional gatherings have become key sites for making and negotiating both industries and individual professions. In fact, during the past few decades, conferences and trade fairs have become a significant global industry in their own right. The editors assert that large-scale professional gatherings are remarkable events that require deeper analysis and scholarly attention.