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1 – 10 of over 25000
Article
Publication date: 8 April 2019

Chihling Liu

This study aims to offer insights into the embodied concerns that underpin men’s personal grooming practices through which they experience their body as the “existential ground of…

1447

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to offer insights into the embodied concerns that underpin men’s personal grooming practices through which they experience their body as the “existential ground of culture and self” and manage their everyday bodily presentation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study analyses 16 interviews with male consumers of age between 20 and 76. The interpretative analysis is informed by both Merleau-Ponty’s concept of the body-subject and the sociology of the body as discursively constituted.

Findings

This study proposes four bodily identity positions that link individual personal grooming practices to specific embodied concerns. These bodily identity positions underline the different ways the male body is called upon to carve out a meaningful existence.

Research limitations/implications

The research findings are not intended to generalise or to be exhaustive. Rather, it is hoped that they may stimulate readers to think more deeply about the role of the body in aiding male consumers to seek maximum grip on their life-world.

Practical implications

The study findings provide marketers with rich narratives for brand positioning and image development beyond the traditional sexual and/or alpha male-themed marketing and advertising. They also offer preliminary insights for mental health practitioners into how the male body shapes men’s identity development and experiences of well-being.

Originality/value

The study identifies the different ways personal grooming can become assimilated into an individual’s system of beliefs and practices. It also offers empirical support for a definition of the body as active and acted upon, especially with respect to male grooming.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 53 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 July 2015

Tachia Chin and Ren-huai Liu

The purpose of this paper is to employ a Yin-Yang harmony perspective to propose a novel circled 5C model to understand the unique harmonizing process of how conflicts are…

5259

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to employ a Yin-Yang harmony perspective to propose a novel circled 5C model to understand the unique harmonizing process of how conflicts are resolved in China. Despite increasing research on labor conflicts in Chinese manufacturing, Western theories still can not explain how Chinese culture influences conflict management.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors investigate a large manufacturer where a severe labor strike happened in South China. A mixed-methods research design is adopted. The scale of Chinese harmony and analysis of variance are used to identify the underlying unharmonious factors triggering the labor strike. The grounding theory approach (a case study) was adopted to further examine the proposed 5C model.

Findings

“Harmony with corporate system”, “Harmony between departments” and “Harmony with firm leader” were found to arouse employee grievances the most. Differences in age, gender, marital status, educational level, tenure and position were discovered to affect workers’ perceptions of workplace harmony. The proposed 5C model was supported.

Practical implications

As a lesson in handling escalating labor conflicts, this study allows foreign investors to better understand how to cope with relevant labor strife issues in China. In addition, this project integrates research with consultancy service, which can be seen as an exciting step forward in bridging academics and practitioners.

Originality/value

Based on Yin-Yang harmony thinking, this study suggests an integrative, context-specific concernconcern for harmony for China to transcend the Western dual-concern model regarding the choice of coping with conflicts. The paper constructs a novel circled 5C model of the Chinese harmonizing process (conflict, clash, communication, comprise and consensus), which characterizes the dynamic, contingent and art-oriented nature of Chinese conflict management.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 26 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 July 2012

Joost van Loon

Purpose – Using Whitehead's notion of prehension in a critical reappraisal of phenomenology, a different kind of understanding of subjectification and objectification is being…

Abstract

Purpose – Using Whitehead's notion of prehension in a critical reappraisal of phenomenology, a different kind of understanding of subjectification and objectification is being proposed in which subjectification is that which enables action as a multiplicity or virtuality, and objectification enables actuality.

Approach – A critical engagement with literature on objects, including Gabriel de Tarde, Alfred North Whitehead, Martin Heidegger and Graham Harman, is used to develop an original conception of objectification and subjectification. This is applied to debates about objectification in pornography.

Findings – This approach enables us to better understand the theoretical underpinnings of empirical philosophies such as Actor Network Theory in support of the argument that objects are capable of action. While subjectification is folded within the process of prehension as the opening of the virtual, it is logically possible to argue that objects are a matter of concern for ethics. This also means that in terms of the pornography debate, the pornographic object as such can be held accountable. We do not have to accept the instrumentalist argument that ‘what you do with it defines its ethics’.

Originality/value – The argument that objects are capable of action has thus far not been pursued in relation to questions of ethics as opposed to politics.

Details

Ethics in Social Research
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-878-6

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 July 2014

Eva Kašperová and John Kitching

The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel conception of embodied entrepreneurial identity. Prior studies conceptualise identity primarily in terms of narrative or discourse…

3970

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel conception of embodied entrepreneurial identity. Prior studies conceptualise identity primarily in terms of narrative or discourse. Critiquing the limited focus on linguistic practices, the authors build on the literature by highlighting the role of the non-linguistic. The implications for researching one particular group – entrepreneurs with impairments – are considered.

Design/methodology/approach

Entrepreneurial identity is conceptualised as a unique constellation of concerns emergent from the embodied practices of agents committed to new venture creation and management. This new conception draws principally on the embodiment literature, Archer's identity framework and Goffman's ideas on the presentation of self, impression management and stigma.

Findings

The entrepreneurial identity literature is underpinned by a number of problematic assumptions that limit understanding of the meaning, formation and influence of identity on action. The body is often an absent presence; it is presupposed, implicit or under-theorised as an influence on identity, producing a disembodied notion of the entrepreneur. Consequently, entrepreneurs are treated as an homogeneous group in terms of the embodied properties and powers, rather than as uniquely embodied individuals. Studies typically assume an able-bodied, as opposed to a differently abled, agent. Entrepreneurs with impairments are largely invisible in the literature as a result.

Originality/value

The approach highlights the role of the body and embodied non-linguistic practices, such as movement, posture, gestures and facial expressions in the formation of identity. Recognising entrepreneurs as differently abled agents, possessing particular embodied properties and powers, is crucial for understanding identity and action.

Details

International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, vol. 20 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1355-2554

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 September 2019

Visar Hoxha

The purpose of this paper is to quantify the carbon emissions emitted by two different typical apartment units representative of two different construction periods in Kosovo due…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to quantify the carbon emissions emitted by two different typical apartment units representative of two different construction periods in Kosovo due to main construction materials as a consequence of embodied energy.

Design/methodology/approach

The present study uses a three-step (bottom-up) process-based life cycle analysis of the construction material set for two different apartment units. The current study uses material analysis. Embodied CO2 is estimated by multiplying material masses with the corresponding ECO2 coefficients (kg CO2/kg). Due to the lack of a comprehensive Kosovo database, data from an international database are utilized. The results provide practical baseline indicators for the contribution of each material in terms of mass and embodied CO2.

Findings

Results of quantitative research find that apartment unit representative of the old communist-era construction produces 50 percent more embodied CO2 emissions than an apartment unit that is representative of modern construction in Kosovo. The study finds that this difference comes mainly because of the utilization of larger quantities of steel, concrete, and precast fabricated concrete in the apartment unit that is representative of the old communist era.

Research limitations/implications

The calculation of embodied CO2 emissions for major construction materials in typical apartments in Kosovo can help in the development of national databases in the future. The availability of such databases could help the construction industry in Kosovo to open up to new sustainable design approaches since such databases and evaluations performed in the national context in Kosovo could help the builders in selecting, assessing and using environmentally friendly materials during the design or refurbishment stage of a building.

Originality/value

This paper is the first investigation of the embodied carbon emission in two different typical apartment building structures in Kosovo.

Details

International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, vol. 38 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-4708

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 22 March 2024

Abdul Rauf, Daniel Efurosibina Attoye and Robert H. Crawford

Recently, there has been a shift toward the embodied energy assessment of buildings. However, the impact of material service life on the life-cycle embodied energy has received…

Abstract

Purpose

Recently, there has been a shift toward the embodied energy assessment of buildings. However, the impact of material service life on the life-cycle embodied energy has received little attention. We aimed to address this knowledge gap, particularly in the context of the UAE and investigated the embodied energy associated with the use of concrete and other materials commonly used in residential buildings in the hot desert climate of the UAE.

Design/methodology/approach

Using input–output based hybrid analysis, we quantified the life-cycle embodied energy of a villa in the UAE with over 50 years of building life using the average, minimum, and maximum material service life values. Mathematical calculations were performed using MS Excel, and a detailed bill of quantities with >170 building materials and components of the villa were used for investigation.

Findings

For the base case, the initial embodied energy was 57% (7390.5 GJ), whereas the recurrent embodied energy was 43% (5,690 GJ) of the life-cycle embodied energy based on average material service life values. The proportion of the recurrent embodied energy with minimum material service life values was increased to 68% of the life-cycle embodied energy, while it dropped to 15% with maximum material service life values.

Originality/value

The findings provide new data to guide building construction in the UAE and show that recurrent embodied energy contributes significantly to life-cycle energy demand. Further, the study of material service life variations provides deeper insights into future building material specifications and management considerations for building maintenance.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 31 no. 13
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 September 2019

Aishah Sabki and Glenn Hardaker

In madrasahs around the world, teaching and learning methods regarding the memorisation of the Qur’an follow the same notion of repetition and the need for embodiment, going…

Abstract

Purpose

In madrasahs around the world, teaching and learning methods regarding the memorisation of the Qur’an follow the same notion of repetition and the need for embodiment, going beyond rote memorisation, to include a form of active learning. The process of memorisation for automaticity and inculcation of the Qur’an is seen when an individual can accurately recite the text in an illuminating way. This approach of repeatedly reciting, reading and writing Qur’anic texts is seen as an enduring method for achieving accuracy, fluency and automaticity. The purpose of this study is to extend the existing body of knowledge in the field by proposing that memorisation in the Islamic context is evident through embodied interactions in the spiritual and physical realm. Educational research on madrasahs is scarce, and the limited research that has been conducted focuses primarily on children’s madrasahs. This study is unique, in that its focus is British madrasahs for adults.

Design/methodology/approach

After conducting observations and interviews at three British adult madrasahs, a narrative analysis using a “holistic-form” approach to gain complete narratives of recitation, oral repetition and embodied learning in the Islamic context was performed. It was found that memorisation and the desire for embodied learning were an integral part of madrasah life and the foundation of the pedagogical approach and of students’ relationship with the teachers. This study concludes that the pedagogical approach used in the madrasahs reflects deep learning through an action-oriented methodology. This study’s fieldwork provides insights into the distinctiveness of the madrasah approach.

Findings

The study provides insights into the characteristics of the memorisation process as represented in the embodied actions of the learner. The results indicate that, in the future, the Islamic memorisation methodology must continue to support deep learning where rote memorisation is integral to an iterative process of practice.

Originality/value

The Islamic memorisation methodology needs to retain an approach that supports higher learning where rote memorisation is integral to an iterative process of practice and in this study, some, in achieving embodied learning. This in turn is instrumental in sustaining an Islamic epistemological perspective of the inseparable nature of knowledge and the sacred. This study provides some insights into the “heart” of the Islamic approach towards memorisation for embodiment that represents a complex process of individual renewal based on the notion of adab through an approach to deep learning.

Details

Journal for Multicultural Education, vol. 13 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-535X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 1998

Wendelin Küpers

Approaches the issue of productivity in services from a phenomenological perspective. Refers to embodiment, expression and emotion in working life of services. Discusses an…

2286

Abstract

Approaches the issue of productivity in services from a phenomenological perspective. Refers to embodiment, expression and emotion in working life of services. Discusses an understanding of post‐industrial service work and a corresponding service‐productivity culture. Presents the concept of “communities of productive practice”. Offers managerial and organizational implications for an embodied productivity.

Details

International Journal of Service Industry Management, vol. 9 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0956-4233

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 March 2020

Sid Lowe

The purpose of this study is to enhance and further an understanding of business to business (B2B) contexts in relation to sensemaking “translations” between “performing” and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to enhance and further an understanding of business to business (B2B) contexts in relation to sensemaking “translations” between “performing” and “representing” of meanings that evolve within an interacting duality. The implications for research are outlined and a need for a corresponding duality in research methods is emphasised.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a conceptual paper exploring some of the main implications for indistrial marketing & purchasing group (IMP) and other B2B research of abandoning Cartesian privileging of generalised cognitive ideas over embodied activities in context.

Findings

Dualities of general structures and contextual practices are mutually constituted by performing and representing translations. They are described as “chiasmic” or “polyphonic” and regarded as polyvalent, dynamic and non-linear. Embodied contextual activities are described as of equal importance to de-contextual cognitive structures in meaning-making.

Practical implications

Practical actors within business networks are encouraged to continue relying upon practical improvisational coping skills that enable them to be effective, embodied “bricoleurs” within complex, often unpredictable and regularly unmanageable, eventful B2B contexts.

Originality/value

A post-Cartesian focus upon ideas and activities, structure and agency as dynamically evolving multiple dualities promotes an appreciation that contextual practices and decontextualised structures are mutually constituted; supporting a practical and pragmatic turn towards polyvalent and ephemeral, contextualised solutions to a diverse multiplicity of problems and issues. A post-Cartesian focus upon ideas and activities, and structure and agency as dynamically evolving multiple dualities promotes an appreciation that contextual practices and decontextualised structures are mutually constituted and a practical and pragmatic “turn” towards polyvalent and ephemeral, contextualised solutions to diverse problems and issues involving business relationships and interaction.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 37 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 25 September 2019

Marcelo de Souza Bispo and Silvia Gherardi

This paper aims to offer a perspective to interpret qualitative data drawing on the introduction of the notion of “embodied practice-based research”.

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to offer a perspective to interpret qualitative data drawing on the introduction of the notion of “embodied practice-based research”.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on a comprehensive literature review to support a meta-theoretical approach, we developed a theoretical essay.

Findings

The body is not only a field of studies but a mean of study as well. The embodied practice-based research is an inquiry style to access the tacit texture of social action and cognition.

Practical implications

Embodied practice-based research may impact qualitative researchers’ education and the way to report methodological proceedings and data report.

Originality/value

The core contribution of the paper is the introduction of a new research style able to change how researchers’ bodies may be used in qualitative management research.

Details

RAUSP Management Journal, vol. 54 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2531-0488

Keywords

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