Consumers, Producers and Practices: Understanding the Invention and Reinvention of Nordic Walking
TL;DR: In this article, the authors suggest that Nordic walking, a form of speed walking with two sticks, arise through the active and ongoing integration of images, artifacts and forms of competence, a process in which both consumers and producers are involved.
Abstract: The idea that artifacts are acquired and used in the course of accomplishing social practices has important implications for theories of consumption and innovation. From this point of view, it is not enough to show that goods are symbolically and materially positioned, mediated and filtered through existing cultures and conventions. Twisting the problem around, the further challenge is to explain how practices change and with what consequence for the forms of consumption they entail. In this article, we suggest that new practices like Nordic walking, a form of ‘speed walking’ with two sticks, arise through the active and ongoing integration of images, artifacts and forms of competence, a process in which both consumers and producers are involved. While it makes sense to see Nordic walking as a situated social practice, such a view makes it difficult to explain its growing popularity in countries as varied as Japan, Norway and the USA. In addressing this issue, we conclude that practices and associated cultures of consumption are always ‘homegrown’. Necessary and sometimes novel ingredients (including images and artifacts) may circulate widely, but they are always pieced together in a manner that is informed by previous and related practice. What looks like the diffusion of Nordic walking is therefore better understood as its successive, but necessarily localized, (re)invention. In developing this argument, we explore some of the consequences of conceptualizing consumption and consumer culture as the outcome of meaningful social practice.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss seven social science ontologies (rational choice, evolution theory, structuralism, interpretivism, functionalism, conflict and power struggle, relationism), their assumptions on agency and causal mechanisms, and their views on socio-technical transitions and environmental sustainability.
1,355 citations
TL;DR: There is a growing recognition of the holistic, unavoidably interrelated nature of contemporary environmental problems and of the need for fresh approaches and forms of governance capable of engaging with complex challenges of this kind.
Abstract: Green is not alone in contending that `̀ environmental c̀rises' require fundamental changes in the socio-technological structure of the way we live and work.''(1) For those concerned with sustainability, the idea of transitionöof substantial change and movement from one state to anotheröhas powerful normative attractions. If `we' can steer change, shape future development, and manage movement in desired directions, perhaps `we' can make the environment a better and more sustainable place in which to live. But how so to do? In a manifestly complex world dominated by hegemonic ideologies of neoliberal capitalism, global finance, and commodity flows is it really possible to intervene and deliberately shift technologies, practices, and social arrangementsönot to mention their systemic interaction and interdependenciesöonto an altogether different, altogether more sustainable track? Across the board there is growing recognition of the holistic, unavoidably interrelated nature of contemporary environmental problems and of the need for fresh approaches and forms of governance capable of engaging with complex challenges of this kind. Theories and models of sustainable transition management, derived from a blend of academic traditions in innovation, history, and technology, appear to fit this bill and it is no wonder that they are now catching on across a number of policy domains. In the Netherlands, government-sponsored programmes have explicitly adopted methods of `transition management' (Kemp and Loorbach, 2006) and in the UK, the policy relevance of similar theories and methods is being explored and actively promoted through projects and events like those supported by the ESRC's Sustainable Technologies Programme. Academically, and in just a few years, there has been rapid growth in the transition management literature and in the appeal of approaches characterised by an alluring combination of agency, complexity, uncertainty, and optimism. We do not intend to provide a thorough review or critique of what is in any case a burgeoning and quickly evolving literature, but at a time when the notion of transition management is capturing so much attention it is as well to reflect on the distinctive features of this particular policy innovation. With this limited aim in mind, we offer some cautionary comments and identify a handful of questions that deserve more explicit attention. The notion of transition is firmly rooted in traditions of system thinking which highlight the coevolution of the social and the technical and which seek to understand and analyse the emergence, transformation, and decay of sociotechnical systems. Much of the `systems in transition' literature makes use of Rip and Kemp's (1998) `multilevel' model of innovation which distinguishes between the macrolevel of the sociotechnical landscape, the mesolevel regime, and the microlevel niche. The key Commentary Environment and Planning A 2007, volume 39, pages 763 ^ 770
928 citations
Cites background from "Consumers, Producers and Practices:..."
...The literature on innovations in practice demonstrates that manufacturers and producers are unable to control the fate and fortune of the things they make, and that consumers, far from being external to systems of innovation, are central to them (Franke and Shah, 2003; Shove and Pantzar 2005 )....
[...]
...The literature on innovations in practice demonstrates that manufacturers and producers are unable to control the fate and fortune of the things they make, and that consumers, far from being external to systems of innovation, are central to them (Franke and Shah, 2003; Shove and Pantzar, 2005)....
[...]
TL;DR: This article applied the insights of social practice theory to the study of proenvironmental behavior change through an ethnographic case study (nine months of participant observation and 38 semi-semi-experiments).
Abstract: This article applies the insights of social practice theory to the study of proenvironmental behaviour change through an ethnographic case study (nine months of participant observation and 38 semi-...
863 citations
TL;DR: Following the article by Vargo and Lusch (2004), the use of a service-dominant logic has become an international topic for discussion as mentioned in this paper, following the research tradition of th
Abstract: Following the article by Vargo and Lusch (2004), the use of a service-dominant logic has become an international topic for discussion In the present article, following the research tradition of th
847 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider how various sustainable practices come into existence, how they disappear and how interventions of different forms may be implicated in these dynamics, and they use the two cases of daily showering and the congestion charging scheme in London to consider the distinctive challenges of understanding transitions in practice and of governing these so as to engender more sustainable ways of life.
747 citations
References
More filters
Book•
01 Jan 1959
TL;DR: For instance, in the case of an individual in the presence of others, it can be seen as a form of involuntary expressive behavior as discussed by the authors, where the individual will have to act so that he intentionally or unintentionally expresses himself, and the others will in turn have to be impressed in some way by him.
Abstract: hen an individual enters the presence of oth ers, they commonly seek to acquire information about him or to bring into play information about him already possessed. They will be interested in his general socio-economic status, his concep tion of self, his attitude toward them, his compe tence, his trustworthiness, etc. Although some of this information seems to be sought almost as an end in itself, there are usually quite practical reasons for acquiring it. Information about the individual helps to define the situation, enabling others to know in advance what he will expect of them and what they may expect of him. Informed in these ways, the others will know how best to act in order to call forth a desired response from him. For those present, many sources of information become accessible and many carriers (or “signvehicles”) become available for conveying this information. If unacquainted with the individual, observers can glean clues from his conduct and appearance which allow them to apply their previ ous experience with individuals roughly similar to the one before them or, more important, to apply untested stereotypes to him. They can also assume from past experience that only individuals of a par ticular kind are likely to be found in a given social setting. They can rely on what the individual says about himself or on documentary evidence he provides as to who and what he is. If they know, or know of, the individual by virtue of experience prior to the interaction, they can rely on assumptions as to the persistence and generality of psychological traits as a means of predicting his present and future behavior. However, during the period in which the indi vidual is in the immediate presence of the others, few events may occur which directly provide the others with the conclusive information they will need if they are to direct wisely their own activity . Many crucial facts lie beyond the time and place of interaction or lie concealed within it. For example, the “true” or “real” attitudes, beliefs, and emotions of the individual can be ascertained only indirectly , through his avowals or through what appears to be involuntary expressive behavior. Similarly , if the individual offers the others a product or service, they will often find that during the interaction there will be no time and place immediately available for eating the pudding that the proof can be found in. They will be forced to accept some events as con ventional or natural signs of something not directly available to the senses. In Ichheiser ’s terms, 1 the individual will have to act so that he intentionally or unintentionally expresses himself, and the others will in turn have to be impressed in some way by him.…
33,615 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1979
TL;DR: In this article, a social critic of the judgement of taste is presented, and a "vulgar" critic of 'pure' criticiques is proposed to counter this critique.
Abstract: Preface to the English-Language Edition Introduction Part 1: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste 1. The Aristocracy of Culture Part 2: The Economy of Practices 2. The Social Space and its Transformations 3. The Habitus and the Space of Life-Styles 4. The Dynamics of Fields Part 3: Class Tastes and Life-Styles 5. The Sense of Distinction 6. Cultural Good Will 7. The Choice of the Necessary 8. Culture and Politics Conclusion: Classes and Classifications Postscript: Towards a 'Vulgar' Critique of 'Pure' Critiques Appendices Notes Credits Index
23,806 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1988
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a very different view of the arts of practice in a very diverse culture, focusing on the use of ordinary language and making do in the art of practice.
Abstract: Preface General Introduction PART I: A VERY ORDINARY CULTURE I. A Common Place: Ordinary Language II. Popular Cultures: Ordinary Language III. Making Do: Uses and Tactics PART II: THEORIES OF THE ART OF PRACTICE IV. Foucault and Bourdieu V. The Arts of Theory VI. Story Time PART III: SPATIAL PRACTICES VII. Walking in the City VIII. Railway Navigation and Incarceration IX. Spatial Stories PART IV: Uses of Language X. The Scriptural Economy XI. Quotations of Voices XII. Reading as Poaching PART V: WAYS OF BELIEVING XIII. Believing and Making People Believe XIV. The Unnamable Indeterminate Notes
10,978 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1980
TL;DR: In this article, the Imaginary Anthropology of Subjectivism is described as an "imaginary anthropology of subjectivism" and the social uses of kinship are discussed. And the work of time is discussed.
Abstract: Preface. Part I: Critique of Theoretical Reason. Foreword. 1. Objectifying Objectification. 2. The Imaginary Anthropology of Subjectivism. 3. Structures, Habitus, Practices. 4. Belief and the Body. 5. The Logic of Practice. 6. The Work of Time. 7. Symbolic Capital. 8. Modes of Domination. 9. The Objectivity of the Subjective. Part II: Practical Logics. 1. Land and Matrimonial Strategies. 2. The social uses of kinship. 3. Irresistible Analogy. Appendix. Bibliography. Index.
10,416 citations
TL;DR: The main characteristics of practice theory, a type of social theory which has been sketched by such authors as Bourdieu, Giddens, Taylor, late Foucault and others, are discussed in this paper.
Abstract: This article works out the main characteristics of `practice theory', a type of social theory which has been sketched by such authors as Bourdieu, Giddens, Taylor, late Foucault and others. Practice theory is presented as a conceptual alternative to other forms of social and cultural theory, above all to culturalist mentalism, textualism and intersubjectivism. The article shows how practice theory and the three other cultural-theoretical vocabularies differ in their localization of the social and in their conceptualization of the body, mind, things, knowledge, discourse, structure/process and the agent.
4,669 citations