Through the eyes of an artist: consumption ethos and commercial art in Bengal

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 242-261
Author(s):  
Anisha Datta

Purpose Through a critical reading of a twentieth-century Bengali artist’s autobiography, this paper aims to attempt to demonstrate how commercial art and the consumption ethos symbolized by that art represented an archetypal bhadralok insignia. A close examination of this insignia reveals how the dynamics of modern liberal values mediating through the colonial capitalist structure in relation to the regional particularities of Bengal opened up a new space of cosmopolitanism, where there is an attempt to reframe cultural practices in the light of a broader global history of interrogation, reason, change and emancipation. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a historical analysis of primary sources. Findings It was found that the bhadralok-led Bengal School of Art influenced commercial art of early postcolonial Bengal. Research limitations/implications The study is limited to the region of Bengal. Originality/value This paper makes contributions to one of the less-researched, but very important areas, of business history in India.

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-262
Author(s):  
Mark Tadajewski ◽  
D.G. Brian Jones

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an historical analysis of an important early contribution to the history of marketing thought literature – the six-book series titled The Knack of Selling – which was published in 1913 and intended as an early training course for salesmanship. Design/methodology/approach This research utilized a close, systematic reading of The Knack of Selling series and places it in the professional and intellectual context of the early twentieth century. Books published about marketing are primary source materials for any study of the history of marketing thought. In this case, The Knack series constitutes significant primary source material for a study of early thinking about personal selling. Findings Echoing A.W. Shaw, Watson offers a more sophisticated interpretation of the “one best way” approach associated with Frederick Taylor. Watson’s advice did not entail the repetition of canned sales talks to each customer. His vision of practice was more complicated. Sales presentations were temporally and locationally relative. They were subject to ongoing evolution. As the marketplace changed, as customer needs and interests shifted, so did organizational and salesperson performances. To keep sales talks relevant to the consumer, personnel were encouraged to undertake rudimentary ethnographic research and interviews. Unusually, there is oscillation in the way power relations between marketer and customer were described. While relational themes are present, so are military metaphors. Originality/value This is the first systematic reading of The Knack of Selling that has been produced. It is an important contribution to the literature inasmuch as this book set is not in wide circulation. The material itself was significant as an input into scholarship subsequently hailed as seminal within sales management.


2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-244
Author(s):  
Kay Morris Matthews

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of ongoing conversations between researchers and librarians. Without such conversations followed by the active purchasing of manuscripts, the important contributions of individual first settlers would likely remain untold. The research review that unfolds here is of one of New Zealand's significant first settlers, William Colenso (1811-1899). Yet, 30 years ago William Colenso was mostly regarded as a local rather than a national figure, renowned and ridiculed for his being dismissed from the Church Missionary Society for moral impropriety in 1852. By 2011, however, a conference dedicated to his life and work attracted both national and international scholars raising awareness and contributing unique knowledge about Colenso as missionary, printer, linguist, explorer, botanist, politician, author and inspector of schools. It is argued that such scholarship was enabled through the purposeful collecting of Colenso's papers over 30 years. Design/methodology/approach – The historical analysis draws from original documents and published papers chronicling the role and the views of one of New Zealand's first inspector of schools. A self-reflective review approach will show how new knowledge can enhance earlier published works and provide opportunities for further analysis. Findings – It will be demonstrated that as a result of ongoing conversations between librarians and researchers purposeful buying of archives and manuscripts have added fresh perspectives to the contributions William Colenso made to education in provincial New Zealand. Originality/value – This work is perhaps the first critical re-reading and review of one's own scholarship undertaken across 30 years within New Zealand history of education. It offers unique self-reflections on the subject focus and analyses of it over time.


2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 12-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick Nesta

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the global history of library consortia from ancient times until the present and propose further development of consortia to address journal costs and research distribution. Design/methodology/approach The global history of consortia is reviewed, with a concentration on the early years of the American Library Association. Findings Consortia have proved their value in making libraries more efficient and in advancing research through combined efforts in developing indexes and catalogues. Research limitations/implications The paper encourages libraries to build on their history of cooperation and extend it by linking their repositories, using their own strengths to battle excessive subscription fees, and become publishers in their own right. Practical implications Consortia are encouraged to work together to build a global repository, to stand firm against predatory pricing and to take the lead in the dissemination of scholarship. Originality/value This paper proposes that libraries join in broad regional consortia to oppose unjustifiable prices imposed by the major publishers and that libraries, with their institutions, work regionally and internationally to take control of the distribution of research.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Hyder Patterson

Purpose – This paper aims to analyze an important series of events in the history of marketing in socialist Europe and the internationalization of marketing thought and practice. Examining the reception of the marketing concept in communist Czechoslovakia, the study shows the effective blockage of the implementation of marketing approaches by orthodox communist authorities. The paper demonstrates the distinctiveness and importance of the Czechoslovak case and provides a basis for integrating that experience into the larger history of marketing under socialism. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on an extensive review of the most relevant Czech and Slovak primary sources including trade journals, manuals and textbooks in marketing and related fields, party and government documents and statements on commercial issues, and other important professional literature on domestic commerce. Findings – The paper provides insights into the use of communist political power to suppress the use of marketing as contrary to the social and ideological goals of socialism. It identifies the rise of marketing approaches during a brief “marketing moment” following market-oriented economic reforms in 1965 and lasting through the “Prague Spring” of 1968. Following the restoration of orthodox communist control, new policies of “normalization” dictated the decline of marketing, which returned to its earlier status of near-invisibility. The suppression of marketing thought and practice lasted until the end of communist rule in 1989. Originality/value – This paper analyzes an unexamined case of marketing in a socialist society and places the case in broader comparative context.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-318
Author(s):  
Young Joon Kim

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of the China–North Korea alliance that has been often described as “Lips and Teeth” or “Blood Tied.” Design/methodology/approach In order to make accurate assessment of the China–North Korea relations, this paper conducts indepth historical analysis of the relations. The relations between two countries were formed in 1940s and lasts until today. Findings However, by looking into the history of two countries, this paper argues that the bilateral relations are not an extraordinary but an ordinary state-to-state relations dictated by national interests. Changes in their calculus of national interests affect their relations. They cooperate with each other when they see mutual benefit in doing so and tension arises when there is a conflict of interests. What should be noted is that the changes in the nature of relations is different from the deterioration in the relations. Recent improvement of their relations supports this paper’s argument. Originality/value This paper suggests new look at the China–North Korea relations that has been considered as an extraordinary relations. The findings of this paper suggest that the alliance relation is not different from other state-to-state relations where conflict and cooperation occurs based on their national interests.


2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-86
Author(s):  
Jennifer Paustenbaugh

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to provide a tribute to the life and work of library fund‐raiser Gwen Leighty.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses personal knowledge and references to Academic Libraries Advancement and Development Network (ALADN) and LIBDEV web sites.FindingsThe paper finds that fundraising is connecting with people and the journey that each development officer must make while raising funds for their library.Originality/valueThe paper presents a brief history of ALADN and the valuable contribution one person made to the cause of library fund‐raising.


2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-213
Author(s):  
Lucie Soucková ◽  
Dana Kominkova

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the historical pollution of the Hostivar Reservoir (largest reservoir in Prague) sediment by metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and identify the trends in pollution of aquatic environment. Design/methodology/approach Core samples, 140 cm long, recording the 45-year history of the reservoir, were separated to 5 cm width subsamples (approximately 1.5 years of sedimentation) and analyzed for metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Al), PAH and PCB. Following methods were used: US EPA 3051 for metals, US EPA 505 and US EPA 8082 A for PCB, and ISO 18287:2006 for PAH. Findings Most of the contaminants had the highest concentration at the beginning of the existence of the reservoir, suggesting that the contamination results from construction activities. Significant decrease of Pb occurred in the second half of the 1990s. It was caused by termination of the addition of lead as a detonation suppressant to the gasoline. Most concentrations of PAHs, PCBs and metals, except copper do not present eco-toxicological risk. Practical implications The results show the volume of priority pollutants removed from the reservoir by sediment extraction, and point risk to the terrestrial environment due to application of the sediment in the construction of a noise protecting wall. Originality/value The paper presents unique data about historical contamination of the largest reservoir in Prague, the capital of Czech Republic. It shows how the watershed and the construction phase of the dam cause a pollution of the reservoir sediment and possible environmental risk for aquatic biota.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-124
Author(s):  
Chunchun Wang

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the transformations of prosthetic practices in China, as well as the daily experiences and dilemmas arising from the everchanging practices since 1949. On the basis of materials, this paper explores an everyday perspective to review the history of technology.Design/methodology/approachEthnography was collected with the application of participant observations, informal interviews and in-depth interviews during a 13-months study at a rehabilitation center in Chengdu, China. The literature on prosthetic manufacturing was also reviewed for this paper.FindingsChina's prosthetic technology seems to evolve from traditional to modern. However, this progressive narrative – innovation-based timeline (Edgerton, 2006, xi) – has been challenged by daily practices. Due to institutional pressures, prosthetists are in a dilemma of selectively using their knowledge to create one kind of device for all prosthesis users with a certain kind of disability, thereby regulating the physical and social experiences of prosthesis users. Besides, prosthesis users are accustomed to prostheses made with old techniques, and must correct themselves from old experiences to the daily practices recognized by the selected techniques.Originality/valueThis paper provides a cross-cultural case to reexamine Edgerton's criticism of the progressive and orderly innovation-centric technological narrative. More importantly, it reviews the history and practices of China's prosthetics from daily experiences rather than Edgerton's concentration on technology; therefore, it provides an everyday perspective for future research on technological transformations.


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 793-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard Bonet

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how the boundaries of rhetoric have excluded important theoretical and practical subjects and how these subjects are recuperated and extended since the twentieth century. Its purpose is to foster the awareness on emerging new trends of rhetoric. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is based on an interpretation of the history of rhetoric and on the construction of a conceptual framework of the rhetoric of judgment, which is introduced in this paper. Findings – On the subject of the extension of rhetoric from public speeches to any kinds of persuasive situations, the paper emphasizes some stimulating relationships between the theory of communication and rhetoric. On the exclusion and recuperation of the subject of rhetorical arguments, it presents the changing relationships between rhetoric and dialectics and emphasizes the role of rhetoric in scientific research. On the introduction of rhetoric of judgment and meanings it creates a conceptual framework based on a re-examination of the concept of judgment and the phenomenological foundations of the interpretative methods of social sciences by Alfred Schutz, relating them to symbolic interactionism and theories of the self. Originality/value – The study on the changing boundaries of rhetoric and the introduction of the rhetoric of judgment offers a new view on the present theoretical and practical development of rhetoric, which opens new subjects of research and new fields of applications.


IMP Journal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 512-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luitzen De Boer ◽  
Poul Houman Andersen

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to contribute to further advancing of IMP as a research field by setting up and starting a theoretical conversation between system theory and the IMP. Design/methodology/approach The approach is based on a narrative literature study and conceptual research. Findings The authors find that system theory and cybernetics can be regarded as important sources of inspiration for early IMP research. The authors identify three specific theoretical “puzzles” in system theory that may serve as useful topics for discussion between system theorists and IMP researchers. Originality/value Only a handful of papers have touched upon the relationship between system theory and IMP before. This paper combines a narrative, historical analysis of this relationship with developing specific suggestions for using system theory as a vehicle for further advancement of IMP research.


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