Consumption And Generational Change

The study of consumption in social life is growing. Moving from being a relatively unimportant part of the processes of production, distribution, and exchange, questions of how people consume and to what ends now occupy center stage. Today's capitalism is exemplified by a global arena of consumption in which distance is no obstacle to distribution and ownership. Equally, social distinctions that accompanied classically "modern" forms of consumption are now more complex and fluid than classifications of "high" and "popular" culture allow.This book addresses the rise of consumer culture and the various attempts to explain and account for it. It considers the view that a particular generational framework was formed in the post-war period and has been carried on into the early twentieth century with particular consequences for the experience of later life. The rise of individualism, of mass consumption, leisure and lifestyles have been accompanied by the democratization of social forms and for many a corrosion of community and social cohesion. The text highlights how understanding is gained from examining the generational habits that developed in tandem with the rise of mass consumption.Drawing on historical perspectives and comparative studies, the book addresses social change with reference to generation effects and conflict. Having set the scene in terms of the literature on consumption, lifestyles and generational change, the volume poses key questions in relation to the transformation of later life that are addressed in turn by the contributors. This is a key volume as we enter the second decade of a new century.

The short lifetime of digital technologies means that generational identities are difficult to establish around any particular technologies let alone around more far-reaching socio-technological ‘revolutions’. Examining the consumption and use of digital technologies throughout the stages of human development, this book provides a valuable overview of ICT usage and generational differences. It focuses on the fields of home, family and consumption as key arenas where these processes are being enacted, sometimes strengthening old distinctions, sometimes creating new ones, always embodying an inherent restlessness that affects all aspects and all stages of life. Combining a collection of international perspectives from a range of fields, including social gerontology, social policy, sociology, anthropology and gender studies, Digital Technologies and Generational Identity weaves empirical evidence with theoretical insights on the role of digital technologies across the life course. It takes a unique post-Mannheimian standpoint, arguing that each life stage can be defined by attitudes towards, and experiences of, digital technologies as these act as markers of generational differences and identity. It will be of particular value to academics of social policy and sociology with interests in the life course and human development as well as those studying media and communication, youth and childhood studies, and gerontology.

Exploring the expression of taste through the processes of consumption this book provides an incisive and accessible evaluation of the current theories of consumption, and trends in the representation and purchase of food. Alan Warde outlines various theories of change in the twentieth century, and considers the parallels between their diagnoses of consumer behaviour and actual trends in food practices. He argues that dilemmas of modern practical life and certain imperatives of the culture of consumption make sense of food selection. He suggests that contemporary consumption is best viewed as a process of continual selection among an unprecedented range of generally accessible items which are made available both commercially and informally.

This book comprises selected papers of the Third International Conference on Future Generation Information Technology, FGIT 2011, held in Jeju Island, Korea, in December 2011. The papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions and focuse on the various aspects of advances in information technology. They were selected from the following 13 conferences: ASEA 2011, BSBT 2011, CA 2011, CES3 2011, DRBC 2011, DTA 2011, EL 2011, FGCN 2011, GDC 2011, MulGraB 2011, SecTech 2011, SIP 2011 and UNESST 2011.

1 Communication, Consumers, and Citizens: Revisiting the Politics of Consumption Dhavan V. Shah, Lewis A. Friedland, Chris Wells, Young Mie Kim, and Hernando Rojas 2 The Personalization of Politics: Political Identity, Social Media, and Changing Patterns of Participation W. Lance Bennett 3 The Politics of Consumer Debt: U.S. State Policy and the Rise of Investment in Consumer Credit, 1920-2008 Louis Hyman 4 Working-Class Cast: Images of the Working Class in Advertising, 1950-2010 Erika L. Paulson and Thomas C. O'Guinn 5 What Does It Mean to Be a Good Citizen? Citizenship Vocabularies as Resources for Action Kjerstin Thorson 6 Sustainable Citizenship and the New Politics of Consumption Michele Micheletti and Dietlind Stolle 7 Political Consumerism and New Forms of Political Participation: The Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale in Italy Paolo R. Graziano and Francesca Forno 8 Gender and Generation in the Social Positioning of Taste Nam-Jin Lee, Christine L. Garlough, Lewis A. Friedland, and Dhavan V. Shah 9 The Shifting Sands of Citizenship: Toward a Model of the Citizenry in Life Politics Young Mie Kim 10 Does Changing a Light Bulb Lead to Changing the World? Political Action and the Conscious Consumer Margaret M. Willis and Juliet B. Schor 11 Buying In to Social Change: How Private Consumption Choices Engender Concern for the Collective Lucy Atkinson 12 From Concerned Shopper to Dutiful Citizen: Implications of Individual and Collective Orientations toward Political Consumerism Melissa R. Gotlieb and Chris Wells 13 Examining Overconsumption, Competitive Consumption, and Conscious Consumption from 1994 to 2004: Disentangling Cohort and Period Effects D. Jasun Carr, Melissa R. Gotlieb, Nam-Jin Lee, and Dhavan V. Shah 14 Constructing Sustainable Consumption: From Ethical Values to the Cultural Transformation of Unsustainable Markets Douglas B. Holt 15 The Civic Consequences of "Going Negative" Attack Ads and Adolescents' Knowledge, Consumption, and Participation Ming Wang, Itay Gabay, and Dhavan V. Shah 16 Between Complacency and Paternalism: Ethical Controversies over Influencing Political and Consumer Choice Thomas Hove 17 Consuming Ourselves to Dearth: Escalating Inequality and Public Opinion Lewis A. Friedland, Hernando Rojas, and Leticia Bode

This book gives readers advanced insights into macroeconomics with historical perspectives and proposes policies to resolve the problems the Japanese economy faces. In the past decade, Japan has experienced a rapidly aging population with an ever-decreasing number of children. This causes significant problems related to macroeconomics covered by this book: a decreasing population, an increasing public debt, an increasing social security expenditure, and deteriorating labor productivity. Thus, the government must change the course it has followed until now. These problems can be categorized into two types: (1) human capital and (2) political institutions. The book therefore consists of two parts. The first, using a macroeconomic model, is mainly a discussion of health and education problems related to human capital. The second part deals with policy problems related to political institutions, that is, the intergenerational imbalance, preventive medicine, local public utilities, and other political issues. Through the arguments presented here, readers gain knowledge that will help to achieve the necessary economic policies in Japan.