Luxury, Craft, Creativity, and Innovation

Author(s):  
Joanne Roberts

Although often associated with the preservation of traditional craft skills, luxury is simultaneously linked to creativity and innovation in terms of new and technologically advanced goods. This chapter identifies how the timelessness of craftsmanship relates to creativity and innovation in the production of luxury-branded goods from bespoke shoes and silk scarves to luxury cars. Drawing on relevant academic literature from the fields of craft, creativity, and innovation, together with the exploration of examples derived from secondary sources, the chapter sheds light on the connections and tensions between these three attributes of present-day luxury-branded goods. The analysis presented provides insight into the varied and often complex connections between craft, creativity, and innovation in the context of the production of luxury-branded goods.

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Sarah Hackett

Drawing upon a collection of oral history interviews, this paper offers an insight into entrepreneurial and residential patterns and behaviour amongst Turkish Muslims in the German city of Bremen. The academic literature has traditionally argued that Turkish migrants in Germany have been pushed into self-employment, low-quality housing and segregated neighbourhoods as a result of discrimination, and poor employment and housing opportunities. Yet the interviews reveal the extent to which Bremen’s Turkish Muslims’ performances and experiences have overwhelmingly been the consequences of personal choices and ambitions. For many of the city’s Turkish Muslim entrepreneurs, self-employment had been a long-term objective, and they have succeeded in establishing and running their businesses in the manner they choose with regards to location and clientele, for example. Similarly, interviewees stressed the way in which they were able to shape their housing experiences by opting which districts of the city to live in and by purchasing property. On the whole, they perceive their entrepreneurial and residential practices as both consequences and mediums of success, integration and a loyalty to the city of Bremen. The findings are contextualised within the wider debate regarding the long-term legacy of Germany’s post-war guest-worker system and its position as a “country of immigration”.


Electricity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-186
Author(s):  
Md Tanbhir Hoq ◽  
Nathaniel Taylor

The introduction of series capacitors in transmission lines causes problems in terms of reliability and the security of distance protection relays. As distance protection is widely used in the transmission network, the challenge of applying it to series compensated lines has been taken up by utilities and relay manufacturers in various ways. In the field of power system protection, developments are largely driven by relay manufacturers, and are often not published in the academic literature; the status and trend of the relay manufacturer’s development are better found in their product manuals and patent activity. Further insight into specific implementations by transmission utilities can be found from publications in industry-led forums and some academic journals. This article surveys the status and development of distance protection for series compensated lines, with a focus on industrial implementation and practical considerations. Factors that influence the protection of series compensated lines are presented. Implementation examples reported by utilities are summarized as examples of the different situations encountered and the methods used to deal with them. It is observed that many utilities use communication-aided protection in series compensated lines, and distance protection is used with reduced reach. Solutions described in relay manuals are presented to demonstrate the manufacturers’ approaches to problems associated with series capacitor protection. While there are methods to counter voltage inversion, current inversion seems to represent a more serious challenge. A patent overview indicates the trends in this domain to be moving towards time-domain-based faster protection methods.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 206
Author(s):  
Magdalena Jarczok-Guzy

<em>The aim of the study is to analyze the functioning of the BNI Poland Group as an organization operating on the principle of networking and to show the role of recommendation in contemporary competitive conditions. The method of analyzing the academic literature, secondary sources, internal documents of the studied group as well as primary data in the form of a questionnaire have been used in the article. The article shows that a membership in a business support group based on the recommendation principle in the era of increased competition helps to remain on the market and raise the number of clients. This work can be used as a source of knowledge for every entrepreneur who is open to business contacts kept according to a strictly defined structure and procedures. The issue of the business support group on the basis of recommendation is quite a recent matter in Poland. The BNI Poland Group was established in 2010, while in the USA it has been functioning since 1985. Due to these dates, you can direct more attention to this form of marketing. This paper is not a commercial but scientific analysis of an organization which could be an instrument of competiveness at market.</em>


Author(s):  
Kris Ven ◽  
Geert Van Kerckhoven ◽  
Jan Verelst

More organizations are currently migrating toward open source desktop software (OSDS). However, such migration is complex. More insight into the process will assist decision makers in making a well-informed decision on whether or not to migrate to OSDS and in building a strong business case to support this decision. In this paper, the authors present the results of a qualitative study in seven Belgian organizations and report on why these organizations have adopted OSDS and how the migration was undertaken. These cases represent challenging adoptions of OSDS. Results indicate that providing added value for users can positively influence user perceptions. In addition, the authors found strong empirical support for the guidelines with respect to the migration to OSDS that have been proposed in academic literature.


2010 ◽  
pp. 1848-1861
Author(s):  
Luiz Antonio Joia ◽  
Paulo Sérgio da Silva Sanz

Since the early 1990s, research has been conducted in an attempt to establish a viable and reliable manner of measuring the intangible assets, also referred to as the intellectual capital, of companies. Several models have been devised, most of them using indicators to evaluate the intangible assets of a given undertaking. In this chapter, exploratory field study methodology is used to analyse the behaviour of the “customer retention” indicator, which has been widely used to evaluate a company’s relationship capital. Two of the largest Brazilian e-retailing groups are analysed in order to obtain an in-depth insight into the behaviour of their frequent customers via their digital channel. Conclusions are presented, indicating that the role of frequent customers in e-retailing companies can sometimes be widely divergent from that presented in existing academic literature. Finally, recommendations are made in order to reach a clearer understanding of the conundrum of valuing a company’s intellectual capital via taken-for-granted indicators.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aishath Muneeza ◽  
Muhammad Fahmi Fauzi ◽  
Muhammad Faisal Bin Mat Nor ◽  
Mohamed Abideen ◽  
Muhammed Maher Ajroudi

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find out the existing practices of the Islamic banks in providing financing to the customers who have a requirement to purchase a finished property and to examine the existing products used by the Islamic banks in this regard by providing an insight into the modus operandi of these products. In doing this, attempt is made to find out the most famous product offered by the Islamic banks in this regard and to find out whether in reality, Malaysian Islamic banking industry has moved away from Bai Bithaman Ajil (BBA) or not. Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative research, largely library-based, and it will consist of secondary sources such as books, journals, articles and other sources related to the Islamic house financing in Malaysia for finished properties. Recent information of the practises of the banks in this regard is obtained from the official websites of the banks. Findings It is found from this study that majority of Islamic Banks in Malaysia prefer to use the Commodity Murabahah facility for finished property. This finding contradicts with the observations made by some scholars who state that in Malaysia, BBA was initially used, and nowadays, the use of Musharakah Mutanaqisah is more common. The reason why Commodity Murbahah has gained popularity is because of the fact that via the Bursa Suq Al Sila platform, it is easy, swift, reliable, profitable, cheaper, convenient and has zero risk to do this type of transaction at the comfort of the office. It is recommended in this paper to use Musharakah Mutanaqisah, as this contract is an innovative contract that is classified as an equity contract under shariah where risk is shared between the parties. There is need to conduct further research to implement Musharakah Mutanaqisah in Malaysia, specifically to reduce the risk that Islamic Banks will bear by practicing this contract. Originality/value The findings of this paper might create confusion among readers, as some may perceive that the finding of the paper is not new as BBA has been dominating Islamic house financing industry from the inception of Islamic banking in the country, and BBA and Murabahah are similar in nature, and as such, commodity Murabahah is also a Murabahah transaction. The reality that needs to be understood is that the way BBA was or is practised in Malaysia in relation to Islamic house financing is that in the name of BBA, the transaction actually followed the Bai’ ‘inah contract, which is a controversial contract among the shariah scholars. Likewise, commodity Murabahah is also a different contract than Murabahah, as it actually refers to tawarruq. As such, this research finding is important to the Islamic banking industry to understand that Malaysia has moved away from the Bai’ ‘inah contract practised in the name of BBA in Islamic house financing, and there are new products introduced by the Islamic banks in Malaysia to replace this practice which were criticised by Shariah scholars.


Author(s):  
Robin Moore

Fernando Ortiz is recognized today as one of the most influential Latin American authors of the 20th century. Amazingly prolific, his publications written between the 1890s and the mid-1950s engage with a vast array of subjects and disciplines. Perhaps Ortiz’s most significant accomplishments were the creation of the field of Afro-Cuban studies and major early contributions to the emergent field of Afro-diasporic studies. Almost everyone else associated with similar research began their investigations decades after Ortiz and in dialogue with his work. Ortiz was one of the first to seriously examine slave and post-abolition black cultures in Cuba. His studies became central to new and more positive discourses surrounding African-derived expression in the mid-20th century that embraced it as national expression for the first time in Latin America. This essay considers Ortiz’s academic career and legacy as regards Afro-Cuban musical study beginning in the early 20th century (when his views were quite dated, even racist) and gradual, progressive changes in his attitudes. Ortiz’s work on music and dance have been underrepresented in existing academic literature, despite the fact that most of his late publications focus on such topics and are considered among his most valuable works. His writings on black heritage provide insight into the struggles within New World societies to overcome the racial/evolutionist ideologies that justified colonial subjugation. His scholarship resonates with broader debates throughout the Americas over the meanings of racial pluralism and the legacy of slavery. And his changing views over the years outline the trajectory of modern Western thought as regards Africa and race, specifically the contributions of Afro-diasporic peoples, histories, and cultures to New World societies.


Societies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Emanuele Giorgi ◽  
Angelo Bugatti ◽  
Andrea Bosio

As described by the strong academic literature, (Vattimo, Bauman, Mumford, Simon, Haraway, Meschiari, Florida) the contemporary society is going through new challenges, such as the friction between youth, technology, and productivity. These challenges affect the way people live and experience the cities, but also the way cities need to evolve. An anthological analysis and a study of secondary sources is used to analyze the new spatial and social experiences, while the analysis of Milan (Italy) as a case study of a creative city is used to understand the rapid shift towards the virtualization of cities, in which consumption is progressively induced by a projected image of the city rather than its actual physical fabric. This manuscript opens a research front, with the goal to understand how architecture and urban design should leave the traditional typologies to propose a new way of creating and living architecture, caught in the middle between the real and the virtual.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellis Urquhart

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider the role that technology may play in the future of experiential tourism. This viewpoint paper begins to question future developments in technological mediation and how these may challenge the author’ view of experiences and their construction in a period of immense and rapid technological development. Design/methodology/approach This is a short viewpoint paper driven by theoretical perspectives in the existing academic literature and the author’s personal stance on the future of experiential tourism. Findings This paper suggests that while there is considerable research into the role and application of technology within tourism, there is a lack of future-orientated debate. The views expressed within the paper argue that three potential directions exist for the future of technological mediation in experiential tourism: mass acceptance and customisation; experiential convergence or “rewinding the clock”, each with significant implications for the management of technological mediation in experiential tourism. Originality/value The paper provides an initial insight into future directions of the tourism industry in a period of immense technological development. Based on existing theoretical perspectives, these viewpoints indicate three potential routes for the industry and act as a catalyst for further dialogue within tourism scholarship.


YouTube has been recognized as one of the influential platforms as a social medium, allowing people across the world to express their thoughts and ideas through sharing videos. The travel-related videos have produced the second-highest searched results from its users of this giant social media in recent years. This study is basically based on an exploratory approach to discover the beneficial uses of YouTube as a promotional platform for travel businesses. To gain insight into the projection, information from secondary sources is investigated. A good quality video with logical contents containing the real scenario of travel products can be placed on YouTube to attract attention from a mass population in a very short time. The presentation of the information in this study, collected from established sources will construct an understanding of the online promotional tool and YouTube as one of them in influencing potential travelers. It will also provide an idea about the effectiveness of YouTube as a promotional tool for business through the revenue generation it has been earning from advertising. Bangladesh tourism and its stakeholders can take advantage of this online stage to make people aware of their products and services.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document