Showing papers by "David Bell published in 2009"

Small Cities? Towards a Research Agenda

Abstract: This article asserts the importance of studying small cities. We argue that small cities have been ignored by urban theorists who, in seeking to conceptualize broad urban agendas and depict generalizable models (for example relating to epochal urbanism, the structure and nature of the urban hierarchy, global cities and global city-regions), have tended to obscure as much as they illuminate. Given that study of ‘the city’ has been vital to broader advances in the social sciences, this neglect of smaller urban centres has profound consequences for urban studies. We argue that this situation needs to be rectified. We review literature relating to small cities and signpost a future research agenda. In doing so, we highlight how conceptual and empirical research into small cities can contribute to broader arguments that have championed the necessity of developing sophisticated and nuanced comparative approaches to understanding the complexity of cities and urban life. This article challenges urbanists to think big about thinking small.

Farm Boys and Wild Men: Rurality, Masculinity, and Homosexuality*

Abstract: In this paper I explore cultural constructions of "rural gay masculinity," focusing first on the stereotype of the "rustic sodomite" seen in a number of Hollywood movies; second, on the construction of an idyllic Eden in the gay imaginary; and third, on gendered and sexualized performances among members of the men's movement and the "radical fairies." In doing so, I suggest how the rural/urban divide is meshed, in complex and distinct ways, with homosexual/heterosexual and masculine/feminine dichotomies in cultural texts and practices. Set against these representations, of course, are the lives of homosexual men born and raised in the country: I discuss accounts of the lives of "farm boys" as a way of contextualizing and complexifying the dominant modes of representation outlined. In all of these portrayals, "rural gay masculinity" is figured in distinct ways, especially in relation to urban effeminacy. I end by calling for further exploration of these issues in an effort to more fully theorize the cultural meanings and experiences of "rural gay masculinity." Language: en

Learning from Second Life.

Abstract: There is currently widespread interest in exploring the opportunities to develop learning that can be delivered in three-dimensional multiuser virtual environments (3-D MUVEs). In this paper, I argue for the need to conduct research into the emerging cultures of use in 3-D MUVEs, focussing on the example of Second Life. Drawing on social and cultural studies of 3-D MUVEs, the paper briefly explores four issues in Second Life which have profound implications for the transplanting of learning: (1) the emerging 'virtual vernacular' of Second Life builds, (2) the development of a capitalist economy within and beyond Second Life, (3) the phenomenon of 'griefing', and (4) the need to take account of the everydayness of Second Life. Only by attending to the cultures of use in 3-D MUVEs--learning from Second Life--can we begin to contemplate the potential for learning in Second Life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Range-Frequency Theory in Models of Brand Choice

Abstract: To construct a price judgment, consumers compare a focal price with one or more reference prices. However, reference price operationalizations in the brand choice literature use single-point summary measures that cannot account for several distributional effects. To account for effects beyond the first moment of the reference price distribution, the authors specify price judgments in models of brand choice in accordance with range–frequency theory. The findings indicate that range–frequency price judgments provide a more complete specification of reference price effects and become more important with an increase in the second and third moments of a reference price distribution. The data also indicate that range effects are stronger for coupon users and frequency effects are stronger for consumers exposed to a trend of prices. The results have several implications for choice modeling, pricing theory, and pricing strategy.

Specifying Price Judgments with Range–Frequency Theory in Models of Brand Choice

Abstract: To construct a price judgment, consumers compare a focal price with one or more reference prices. However, reference price operationalizations in the brand choice literature use single-point summary measures that cannot account for several distributional effects. To account for effects beyond the first moment of the reference price distribution, the authors specify price judgments in models of brand choice in accordance with range–frequency theory. The findings indicate that range–frequency price judgments provide a more complete specification of reference price effects and become more important with an increase in the second and third moments of a reference price distribution. The data also indicate that range effects are stronger for coupon users and frequency effects are stronger for consumers exposed to a trend of prices. The results have several implications for choice modeling, pricing theory, and pricing strategy.

Manufacturer-owned retail stores

Abstract: Increasingly, manufacturers sell their products in their own retail stores, and many of these stores appear to be in direct competition with independent retailers; i.e., both types of retail stores are physically co-located. We analyze one way this practice affects the retail market. We find that, when independent retailers compete against company stores (instead of just against other independent retailers), they (1) charge higher prices and (2) are more willing to engage in marketing efforts on behalf of the manufacturer’s brand. Furthermore, when company stores and independent retailers compete in the same market, the company store charges higher prices and provides more marketing effort. Anecdotal data are consistent with these model predictions.

Surveillance is Sexy

Abstract: This paper considers sexualization of surveillance as a mode of resistance. It explores various modes of sexualized surveillance, from ‘reality porn’ to webcam footage, and focuses on the ways in which voyeurism and exhibitionism are mobilized within an emerging ‘surveillance aesthetic’ across these forms. Building on work that considers ‘playful’ engagements with surveillance, and discussions of forms of counter-surveillance, the paper attempts to locate ‘sexy surveillance’ within this body of critical engagement that seeks not to hide from surveillance, but to confront its logics head on. In exploring how the omnipresence of surveillance shifts experiences of voyeurism and exhibitionism into new contexts, the paper argues that sexualization is one possible response for the ‘surveillance-savvy’ subject to utilize.

Space travel and culture : from Apollo to space tourism

Abstract: 'Space Travel and Culture' explores the significance of the first Apollo moon landing and how the countless books, films and products associated with factual space fiction had an affect on popular culture and artistic practice, but not social sciences and humanities.

Winter wonderlands: public outdoor ice rinks, entrepreneurial display and festive socialities in UK cities

Abstract: This paper provides a critical discussion of the uses and meanings of temporary outdoor ice rinks, which have become increasingly popular in UK cities over the last decade. The installation of ice rinks in cities in winter time is framed in a number of contexts, including entrepreneurial governance and civic boosterism, the uses of culture by the local state, invented winter and Christmas traditions, the effects of cold winter weather on sociality and other forms of embodied play argued to be reshaping urban socialities. Conceiving ice rinks as a form of ‘entrepreneurial display’, the paper also draws on theories of ‘expressive embodiment’ to explore how rinks also encourage particular ways of performing and interacting that contest current critiques of the effects of entrepreneurial urban governance.

Modeling of Marketing Channels: Implications for Both Fields and a Call for Future Research

Abstract: Game-theoretic models of marketing channels typically rely on simplifying assumptions that, from a behavioral perspective, often appear naive. However, behavioral researchers have produced such an abundance of behavioral regularities that they are impossible to incorporate into game-theoretic models. We believe that a focus on three core findings would benefit both fields; these are: First, beliefs that are held by the various players regarding profit consequences of different actions are incomplete and often biased; second, players’ preferences and optimization objectives are not commonly known; and third, players have insufficient cognitive abilities to achieve optimization objectives. Embracing these three findings shifts the focus from rational decision making to how decision makers learn to improve their decision making skills. Concluding, we believe that greater convergence of game-theoretic modeling and behavioral research in marketing channels would lead to new insights for both fields.

Introduction : making space

Abstract: 'Space Travel and Culture' explores the significance of the first Apollo moon landing and how the countless books, films and products associated with factual space fiction had an affect on popular culture and artistic practice, but not social sciences and humanities.

Organizing the space age

Abstract: (2009). Organizing the space age. Management & Organizational History: Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 227-228.