Brands, which are major economic entities and major symbols of market mediations, are increasingly appearing in the social arena as cultural actors in their own right. Their quest for social legitimacy and to have control over the markets goes beyond the usual framework of their communication with initiatives that have begun to have an impact on the French cultural landscape. Media, digital content, educational kits, museum exhibitions and so on are the actions of an unadvertization, which has the potential to transform not only the rapport brands have with the public but also representations of knowledge and culture. The communicative approach at the heart of this book illuminates the contemporary transformations of communication, highlighting three main types of cultural mediations: media, education, and cultural heritage institutions. Cultural Mediations of Brands thus provides a theoretical and critical analysis of the brand and the symbolic effectiveness attributed to it.

In the first half of the twentieth century, Theodor Adorno wrote about the 'culture industry'. For Adorno, culture too along with the products of factory labour was increasingly becoming a commodity. Now, in what they call the 'global culture industry', Scott Lash and Celia Lury argue that Adorno's worst nightmares have come true. Their new book tells the compelling story of how material objects such as watches and sportswear have become powerful cultural symbols, and how the production of symbols, in the form of globally recognized brands, has now become a central goal of capitalism. Global Culture Industry provides an empirically and theoretically rich examination of the ways in which these objects - from Nike shoes to Toy Story, from global football to conceptual art - metamorphose and move across national borders. This book is set to become a dialectic of enlightenment for the age of globalization. It will be essential reading for students and scholars across the social sciences.

Brand relationships are critical because they can enhance company profitability by lowering customer acquisition and retention costs. This is the first serious academic book to offer a psychological perspective on the meaning of and basis for brand relationships, as well as their effects. The Handbook of Brand Relationships includes chapters by well-known marketing and psychology scholars on topics related to the meaning, significance, and measurement of brand relationships; the critical connections between consumers and the brand; how brand relationships are formed through both thoughtful and non-thoughtful processes; and how they are built, repaired, and leveraged through brand extensions. An integrative framework introduces the book and summarizes the chapters' key ideas. The handbook also identifies several novel metrics for measuring various aspects of brand relationships, and it includes recommendations for further research.

This book addresses current research trends and practice in industrial design. Going beyond the traditional design focus, it explores a range of recent and emerging aspects concerning service design, human–computer interaction and user experience design, sustainable design, virtual and augmented reality, as well as inclusive/universal design, and design for all. A further focus is on apparel and fashion design: here, innovations, developments and challenges in the textile industry, including applications of material engineering, are taken into consideration. Papers on pleasurable and affective design, covering studies on emotional user experience, emotional interaction design and topics related to social networks, are also included. Based on the AHFE 2021 International Conferences on Design for Inclusion, Interdisciplinary Practice in Industrial Design, Affective and Pleasurable Design, Kansei Engineering, and Human Factors for Apparel and Textile Engineering, held virtually on 25–29 July 2021, from USA, this book provides, researchers and professionals in engineering, design, human factors and ergonomics, human computer interaction and materials science with extensive information on research trends, innovative methods and best practices, and is expected to foster collaborations between experts from different disciplines and sectors.

This book reports on cutting-edge findings and developments in physical, social and occupational ergonomics. It covers a broad spectrum of studies and evaluation procedures concerning physical and mental workload, work posture and ergonomic risk. Further, it reports on significant advances in the design of services and systems, including those addressing special populations, for purposes such as health, safety and education, and discusses solutions for a better and safer integration of humans, automated systems and digital technologies. The book also analyzes the impact of culture on people’s cognition and behavior, providing readers with timely insights into theories on cross-cultural decision-making, and their diverse applications for a number of purposes in businesses and societies. Based on the AHFE 2021 conferences on Physical Ergonomics and Human Factors, Social & Occupational Ergonomics, and Cross-Cultural Decision Making, held virtually on 25–29 July, 2021, from USA, it provides readers with a comprehensive overview of the current challenges in physical, social and occupational ergonomics, including those imposed by technological developments, highlights key connections between them, and puts forward optimization strategies for sociotechnical systems, including their organizational structures, policies and processes.

Cultural sociology - or the sociology of culture - has grown from a minority interest in the 1970s to become one of the largest and most vibrant areas within sociology globally. In The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Sociology, a global range of experts explore the theory, methodology and innovations that make up this ever-expanding field. The Handbook′s 40 original chapters have been organised into five thematic sections: Theoretical Paradigms Major Methodological Perspectives Domains of Inquiry Cultural Sociology in Contexts Cultural Sociology and Other Analytical Approaches Both comprehensive and current, The SAGE Handbook of Cultural Sociology will be an essential reference tool for both advanced students and scholars across sociology, cultural studies and media studies.

This two-volume set LNCS 11578 and 11579 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Social Computing and Social Media, SCSM 2019, held in July 2019 as part of HCI International 2019 in Orlando, FL, USA. HCII 2019 received a total of 5029 submissions, of which 1275 papers and 209 posters were accepted for publication after a careful reviewing process. The 81 papers presented in these two volumes are organized in topical sections named: Social Media Design and Development, Human Behaviour in Social Media, Social Network Analysis, Community Engagement and Social Participation, Computer Mediated Communication, Healthcare Communities, Social Media in Education, Digital Marketing and Consumer Experience.

This book reports on interdisciplinary research and practices in communication, interior, fashion and product design, highlighting strategies for systematizing the design approach in a global, digital world. It gathers a selection of chapters written by the authors of the best articles presented at the 7th EIMAD conference, held online on May 14–15, 2020, from Portugal. The works were chosen for their particular link to contemporary concerns in terms of identity, health and well-being, social inclusion, sustainability, education and environment and, among others. They cover and bridges between important aspects of design education, research and practice, as well as creativity and emerging technology, offering a timely perspective and a source of inspiration to researchers, professionals and educators in design, product development and related fields.

International exchange in European cultural life in the 19th and 20th centuries From the early nineteenth century till the middle of the twentieth century, cultures in Europe were primarily national. They were organized and conceived of as attributes of the nation states. Nonetheless, these national cultures crossed borders with an unprecedented intensity even before globalization transformed the very concept of culture. During that long period, European cultures have imported and exported products, techniques, values, and ideas, relying on invisible but efficient international networks. The central agents of these networks are considered mediators: translators, publishers, critics, artists, art dealers and collectors, composers. These agents were not only the true architects of intercultural transfer, they also largely contributed to the shaping of a common canon and of aesthetic values that became part of the history of national cultures. Cultural Mediation in Europe, 1800-1950 analyses the strategic transfer roles of cultural mediators active in large parts of Western Europe in domains as varied as literature, music, visual arts, and design. Contributors Amélie Auzoux (Université Paris IV-Sorbonne), Christophe Charle (Université Paris I-Panthéon-Sorbonne), Kate Kangaslahti (KU Leuven), Vesa Kurkela (University of the Arts, Helsinki), Anne O’Connor (University of Galway), Saijaleena Rantanen (University of the Arts, Helsinki), Ágnes Anna Sebestyén (Hungarian Museum of Architecture, Budapest), Inmaculada Serón Ordóñez (University of Málaga), Renske Suijver (Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam), Tom Toremans (KU Leuven), Dirk Weissmann (Université Toulouse Jean-Jaurès)

The Value of Design in Retail and Branding creates a much-needed bridge between different disciplines involved in retail design, bringing together a range of research and insights for practice in these disciplines, improving the impact of design.