From Trump's backward-looking promise to "make America great again" to the hipster's fondness for a pre-industrial age of craft, nostalgia saturates our world. Gandini's book is a remarkable and insightful guide to this phenomenon, laying out the deep roots of its origins and setting out the contours of its limits.' Nick Srnicek, co-author of Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work We live an age of nostalgia, incarnated by populist fantasies of “taking back control” and making nations “great again". In the long aftermath of the 2007-08 economic crisis, nostalgia has been established as the cultural zeitgeist of Western society. Populist fantasies of nostalgia represent a cry for help against the demise of the societal model of the postwar era, based on stable employment and mass consumption. The promise of an impossible return to the 'good life' of the 20th century, Gandini contends, particularly appeals to the older generations, who are incapable of making sense of the evolution of Western societies after decades of globalization and neoliberal policies. The younger generations, in the meantime, are instead trying to build a new 'good life' based on another form of return, this time to old practices of craft production and consumption.
Exploring the new professional scenes in digital and freelance knowledge, this innovative book provides an account of the subjects and cultures that pertain to knowledge work in the aftermath of the creative class frenzy. Including a broad spectrum of empirical projects, The Reputation Economy documents the rise of freelancing and digital professions and argues about the central role held by reputation within this context, offering a comprehensive interpretation of the digital transformation of knowledge work. The book shows how digital technologies are not simply intermediating productive and organizational processes, allowing new ways for supply and demand to meet, but actually enable the diffusion of cultural conceptions of work and value that promise to become the new standard of the industry.
The purpose of this monograph is to provide a thorough outlook on the topic related to the synthesis and characterization of original macromolecular materials derived from plant oils, an important part of the broader steadily growing discipline of polymers from renewable resources. The interest in vegetable oils as sources of biodiesel and materials has witnessed a remarkable growth of scientific and industrial interest since the beginning of the third millennium responding to the pressing drive to implement sustainability in the energy and materials sectors. The book highlights the most relevant strategies being pursued to elaborate polymers derived from a variety of common oils, by direct activation or through chemical modifications yielding novel monomers. Because glycerol is the main byproduct of biodiesel production, it is treated here as the other logical source of macromolecular synthesis. Each of the different approaches is illustrated by an introductory layout of the underlying chemical mechanisms, followed by examples of notable achievements in terms of the properties and potential applications of the ensuing materials, which span a wide range of structures and performances. In particular, original pathways involving click-chemistry reactions as thiol-ene and Diels-Alder couplings and metathesis polymerizations are discussed and shown to reflect the involvement of a growing number of research programs worldwide. It is important to underline that the book is not a scientific review covering the details of all relevant literature, but instead a reasoned and well-documented presentation of the state-of-the-art aimed at professionals in the field of polymer science, as well as at both undergraduate and graduate students and, more generally at chemists interested in the rational exploitation of renewable resources.
This book offers a toolkit of methods and technologies to undertake qualitative research on digital spaces. Unlike commonly used traditional methodological strategies, which are ‘retrofitted’ to digital spaces, Qualitative Research in Digital Environments offers researchers a set of ‘digitally native’ tools that are designed for online social environments. Thanks to a broad range of cases including Louis Vuitton, YouTube and the concept of ‘hipsterism’, this text illustrates the practical applications of techniques and tools over the most popular social media environments. This book will be a valuable guide to qualitative research for marketing students, researchers and practitioners, as well as a central reference point for tutors in the growing field of Digital Sociology.
FURAN POLYMERS AND THEIR REACTIONS Understand furan polymers and their roles in industrial production Furans are platform chemicals from biomass which have a range of functions in the production of solvents, biofuels, and monomers for industrial polymer synthesis. As the search for sustainable industrial processes makes biomass resources ever more vital, a more detailed understanding of these compounds and their industrial uses has never been more critical. Furan Polymers and their Reactions surveys these crucial compounds and their contributions to polymer synthesis. It discusses the biorefinery of furans, identifies furfural and 5-hydroxymethyl furfural as the key furan monomer precursors for different polymer synthetic processes, and analyzes all the major reactions furans undergo during these processes and the structures, properties and applications of the ensuing materials. The results are a vital contribution to the growing field of renewable industry. Furan Polymers and their Reactions readers will also find: Detailed analysis of key polymerization reactions such as the Diels-Adler reaction, chain-growth and step-growth polymerizations, as well as the chemical modifications of some of these polymers. An authorial team with decades of combined experience in furan chemistry and polymer synthesis Furan Polymers and their Reactions is an essential resource for researchers and professionals in industrial engineering, polymer science, and biotechnology, as well as for any industry professionals working with platform chemicals or polymer synthesis.
FURAN POLYMERS AND THEIR REACTIONS Understand furan polymers and their roles in industrial production Furans are platform chemicals from biomass which have a range of functions in the production of solvents, biofuels, and monomers for industrial polymer synthesis. As the search for sustainable industrial processes makes biomass resources ever more vital, a more detailed understanding of these compounds and their industrial uses has never been more critical. Furan Polymers and their Reactions surveys these crucial compounds and their contributions to polymer synthesis. It discusses the biorefinery of furans, identifies furfural and 5-hydroxymethyl furfural as the key furan monomer precursors for different polymer synthetic processes, and analyzes all the major reactions furans undergo during these processes and the structures, properties and applications of the ensuing materials. The results are a vital contribution to the growing field of renewable industry. Furan Polymers and their Reactions readers will also find: Detailed analysis of key polymerization reactions such as the Diels-Adler reaction, chain-growth and step-growth polymerizations, as well as the chemical modifications of some of these polymers. An authorial team with decades of combined experience in furan chemistry and polymer synthesis Furan Polymers and their Reactions is an essential resource for researchers and professionals in industrial engineering, polymer science, and biotechnology, as well as for any industry professionals working with platform chemicals or polymer synthesis.
An up-to-date and two volume overview of recent developments in the field of chemocatalytic and enzymatic processes for the transformation of renewable material into essential chemicals and fuels. Experts from both academia and industry discuss catalytic processes currently under development as well as those already in commercial use for the production of bio-fuels and bio-based commodity chemicals. As such, they cover drop-in commodity chemicals and fuels, as well as bio-based monomers and polymers, such as acrylic acid, glycols, polyesters and polyolefins. In addition, they also describe reactions applied to waste and biomass valorization and integrated biorefining strategies. With its comprehensive coverage of the topic, this is an indispensable reference for chemists working in the field of catalysis, industrial chemistry, sustainable chemistry, and polymer synthesis.
This book offers a toolkit of methods and technologies to undertake qualitative research on digital spaces. Unlike commonly used traditional methodological strategies, which are ‘retrofitted’ to digital spaces, Qualitative Research in Digital Environments offers researchers a set of ‘digitally native’ tools that are designed for online social environments. Thanks to a broad range of cases including Louis Vuitton, YouTube and the concept of ‘hipsterism’, this text illustrates the practical applications of techniques and tools over the most popular social media environments. This book will be a valuable guide to qualitative research for marketing students, researchers and practitioners, as well as a central reference point for tutors in the growing field of Digital Sociology.
This book introduces readers to the core principles and methodologies of product development, and highlights the interactions between engineering design and industrial design. It shows to what extent the two cultures can be reconciled, and conversely what makes each of them unique. Although the semantic aspect is fundamental in industrial design, while the functional aspect is essential for the industrial product, the interaction between the two worlds is strategically vital. Design is also a strategic problem-solving process that drives innovation, builds business success and leads to better quality of life through innovative products, systems, services and experiences. The book connects product development with the concepts and strategies of innovation, recognizing that product design is a complex process in which invention, consumers’ role, industrial technologies, economics and the social sciences converge. After presenting several examples of artifacts developed up to the conceptual phase or built as prototypes, the book provides a case study on a packaging machine, showcasing the principles that should underlie all design activities, and the methods that must be employed to successfully establish a design process. The book is primarily targeted at professionals in the industry, design engineers and industrial designers, as well as researchers and students in design schools, though it will also benefit any reader interested in product design.
Hyperbaric oxygen application has now become a useful technique for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in CNS, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as in soft-tissue and orthopaedic pathologies and haematologic disorders. With a specific didactic approach, supported by numerous illustrations and tables, this volume aims to present all aspects of oxygen application under pressure not only to resolve some clinical problems, but also to improve recovery or to modify a negative illness evolution. Both scientists and practitioners will find this work a useful and updated reference book.
Today, being authentic has become an aspiration and an imperative. The notion of authenticity shapes the consumption habits of individuals in the most diverse contexts such as food and drinks, clothing, music, tourism and the digital sphere, even leading to the resurgence of apparently obsolescent modes of production such as craft. It also significantly transforms urban areas, their local economies and development. The Hipster Economy analyses this complex set of related phenomena to argue that the quest for authenticity has been a driver of Western societies from the emersion of capitalism and industrial society to today. From this premise, the book advances multiple original contributions. First, it explains why and how authenticity has become a fundamental value orienting consumers' taste in late modern capitalism; second, it proposes a novel conceptualisation of the aesthetic regime of consumption; third, the book constitutes the first detailed analysis of the resurgence of the neo-craft industries, their entrepreneurs, and the economic imaginary of consumption underpinning them, and fourth, it analyses how the hipster economy is impacting the urban space, favouring new logic of urban development with contrasting outcomes. Praise for The Hipster Economy ‘The term “hipster” usually evokes frivolity, while the concept of “authenticity” has been studied so extensively it’s getting hard to find a novel use for it. In this lovely new book, Gerosa has given hipsterism the serious analysis it deserves. Through clear, unforced writing, he convincingly reveals the importance of a distinct form of hipster aesthetics, one based on authentic experience, for today’s consumption-based economy. Gerosa has successfully enlivened the conversations around authenticity and started new ones around late capitalism’s regimes of accumulation. This book is a fine achievement.’ Richard E. Ocejo, CUNY Graduate Center and John Jay College ‘The Hipster Economy is a very welcome addition to sociological discussions of authenticity and consumer culture. Ethnographic vignettes of “crafty capitalism” and passionate “taste dealers” enliven a theoretically rich argument that hipsterism should be treated not as a subculture, but as an aesthetic regime typifying contemporary life. Using the “hipster” as a lens, Gerosa provides a masterful tour of post-Fordist changes to modes of capitalism, patterns of urban development, and the material practices and subjective experiences of work, while charting the long-term development and contemporary expression of authenticity as a master narrative in consumer culture.’ Jennifer Smith Maguire, Sheffield Hallam University
New and updated English translation of the highly successful book on digital media This book introduces readers to the vast and rich world of digital media. It provides a strong starting point for understanding digital media’s social and political significance to our culture and the culture of others—drawing on an emergent and increasingly rich set of empirical and theoretical studies on the role and development of digital media in contemporary societies. Touching on the core points behind the discipline, the book addresses a wide range of topics, including media economics, online cooperation, open source, social media, software production, globalization, brands, marketing, the cultural industry, labor, and consumption. Presented in six sections—Media and Digital Technologies; The Information Society; Cultures and Identities; Digital Collaboration; Public Sphere and Power; Digital Economies—the book offers in-depth chapter coverage of new and old media; network infrastructure; networked economy and globalization; the history of information technologies; the evolution of networks; sociality and digital media; media and identity; collaborative media; open source and innovation; politics and democracy; social movements; surveillance and control; digital capitalism; global inequalities and development; and more. Delivers a reliable, compact and quick introduction to the core issues analyzed by digital culture studies and sociology of information societies Interweaves main topics and theories with several examples and up-to-date case studies, often linked to our everyday lives on the internet, as well as suggestions for further readings Anchors examples to discussions of the main sociological, political, and anthropological theoretical approaches at stake to help students make sense of the changes brought about by digital media Uses critical sociological and political theory alongside every day examples to discuss concepts such as online sociality, digital labor, digital value creation, and the reputation economy Clear and concise throughout, Introduction to Digital Media is an excellent primer for those teaching and studying digital culture and media.
On March 24, 1944, Nazi occupation forces in Rome killed 335 unarmed civilians in retaliation for a partisan attack the day before. Portelli has crafted an eloquent, multi-voiced oral history of the massacre, of its background and its aftermath. The moving stories of the victims, the women and children who survived and carried on, the partisans who fought the Nazis, and the common people who lived through the tragedies of the war together paint a many-hued portrait of one of the world's most richly historical cities. The Order Has Been Carried Out powerfully relates the struggles for freedom under Fascism and Nazism, the battles for memory in post-war democracy, and the meanings of death and grief in modern society.
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