scholarly journals Bad Machinery and the Economics of Free Comics: A Webcomic Case Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paddy Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Commercial Activities ◽  
Comics Studies ◽  
The Uk

 John Allison is one of a small number of alternative cartoonists in the UK today earning a living from their cartooning. However, since he began his first webcomic, Bobbins, in 1998, he has given all of his comics content away for free online. This article presents John Allison’s comics, most notably his series Bad Machinery, as a case study of how to make free webcomics an economically viable labour, achieved by Allison’s use of webcomics as a springboard for other commercial activities such as illustration work and printed comics. Taking an interdisciplinary approach consistent with the wider field of Comics Studies, this article draws upon concepts from sociology, literary criticism and economics to provide a theoretical framework through which to understand webcomics as labour, and thus to understand through this reading the economics of free webcomics, with John Allison as the exemplary web cartoonist. 

scholarly journals Promotion to Partner in Large Law Firms Operating in the United Kingdom: Tournament Theory and the Monitoring of the Implied Promise

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
David Howell Shufflebotham
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Law Firms ◽  
Law Firm ◽  
Tournament Theory ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Core Elements ◽  
The Uk

<p>This research is a study of the promotion to partner process in large law firms in the United Kingdom (UK). It is concerned with the application of tournament theory to such firms. In particular it is an examination of the ability of associate lawyers to monitor the implied promise that, in prescribed circumstances, they will have the opportunity of becoming a partner at their firms. In order to identify whether or not the rules of tournament theory on promotion to partnership hold true when set against the experiences of lawyers in large law firms operating in the UK, I established a theoretical framework based on a review of the relevant literature. I then tested that theoretical framework with data from two sources: case study interviews with partners at a large UK law firm; and a questionnaire distributed to a wider sample group of partners across a number of large UK law firms. The research found strong evidence to support the application of the core elements of tournament theory to large law firms in the UK. The research also found, however, that the implied promise envisaged by tournament theory was not the promise monitored by the individuals who took part in the research project.</p>

scholarly journals Promotion to Partner in Large Law Firms Operating in the United Kingdom: Tournament Theory and the Monitoring of the Implied Promise

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
David Howell Shufflebotham
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Law Firms ◽  
Law Firm ◽  
Tournament Theory ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Core Elements ◽  
The Uk

<p>This research is a study of the promotion to partner process in large law firms in the United Kingdom (UK). It is concerned with the application of tournament theory to such firms. In particular it is an examination of the ability of associate lawyers to monitor the implied promise that, in prescribed circumstances, they will have the opportunity of becoming a partner at their firms. In order to identify whether or not the rules of tournament theory on promotion to partnership hold true when set against the experiences of lawyers in large law firms operating in the UK, I established a theoretical framework based on a review of the relevant literature. I then tested that theoretical framework with data from two sources: case study interviews with partners at a large UK law firm; and a questionnaire distributed to a wider sample group of partners across a number of large UK law firms. The research found strong evidence to support the application of the core elements of tournament theory to large law firms in the UK. The research also found, however, that the implied promise envisaged by tournament theory was not the promise monitored by the individuals who took part in the research project.</p>

scholarly journals The social supply chain and the future high street

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Fletcher ◽  
Anita Greenhill ◽  
Marie Griffiths ◽  
Rachel McLean
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Commercial Activities ◽  
The Social ◽  
High Street ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how independent social and commercial activities have developed in response to the perceived decline in the UK High Street and in response to the challenges of increasing digital retailing opportunities. This examination is undertaken through the lens of the social supply chain as a means to understanding, suggesting and expanding on current research regarding retailing and the UK High Street. The authors reveal some of the challenges being posed by the changing patterns of growth and consumption in cities and couple these with shifting supply chain trends. Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach is used to explore the rapid advances and influence of digital technologies on businesses operating on the primary business street of suburban centre, towns or cities (described in the UK collectively as the “high street”). The research is conducted through the analytical lens of the social supply chain. Findings – Theoretically extending the “social” in the social supply chain, the authors illustrate the usefulness of the nuanced concept of the “social supply chain” with two related strategies concerning delivery and balance. These strategies are themselves interlinked with the actions of co-creation, co-production and co-consumption. Examples of social supply chain strategies presented include retail businesses giving away something as an incentive, where the underlying requirement from the customer is that they will bring their own specialist product, skill or social network to a specified location (real or virtual). Originality/value – For the purpose of this paper, the authors use two distinct strategies relating to delivery and balancing and in relation to the actions of co-creation, co-production and co-consumption to emphasise and analyse changes currently occurring in the UK High Street. The authors take a social supply chain management (SCM) perspective to undertake a systematic critical review of the various recent efforts undertaken by local governments, communities and trader groups to revitalise the High Street.

Migrant Diplomacies: Rethinking Diplomacy Beyond State-Centric Perspectives. A Civic Bi-Nationality Experience from North America

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Alejo
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Mexico City ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Global Politics ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Interdisciplinary Dialogue ◽  
Contemporary Politics ◽  
Migrant Activism ◽  
Point Of Departure

There is a pressing need to extend our thinking about diplomacy beyond state-centric perspectives, as in the name of sovereignty and national interests, people on move are confronting virtual, symbolic and/or material walls and frames of policies inhibiting their free movement. My point of departure is to explore migrant activism and global politics through the transformation of diplomacy in a globalised world. Developing an interdisciplinary dialogue between new diplomacy and sociology, I evidence the emergence of global sociopolitical formations created through civic bi-nationality organisations. Focusing on the agent in interaction with structures, I present a theoretical framework and strategy for analysing the practices of migrant diplomacies as an expression of contemporary politics. A case study from North America regarding returned families in Mexico City provides evidence of how these alternative diplomacies are operating.

Unlock imagined: arts in criminal justice

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-143
Author(s):  
Alison Frater
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Personal Perspective ◽  
Theoretical Understanding ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Optimistic Picture ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Causes Of Crime

Starting with a personal perspective this piece outlines the place and role of the arts in the criminal justice system in the UK. It paints an optimistic picture, though an unsettling one, because the imagination and reflexiveness of the arts reveals a great deal about the causes of crime and the consequences of incarceration. It raises questions about the transforming impact of the arts: how the benefits could, and should, be optimised and why evaluations of arts interventions are consistent in identifying the need for a non-coercive, more socially focused, paradigm for rehabilitation. It concludes that the deeper the arts are embedded in the criminal justice system the greater the benefits will be, that a more interdisciplinary approach would support better theoretical understanding, and that increased capacity to deliver arts in the criminal justice system is needed to offer more people a creative pathway out of crime.

Neither Victors nor Victims

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Whetham
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
High Street ◽  
National Survival ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Realistic Goal

Between 2007 and 2011, Wootton Bassett, a small Wiltshire town in the UK, became the focus of national attention as its residents responded to the regular repatriations of dead soldiers through its High Street. The town’s response came to symbolize the way that broader attitudes developed and changed over that period. As such, it is a fascinating case study in civil–military relations in the twenty-first century. Success may be the same as victory, but victory, at least as it has been traditionally understood, is not a realistic goal in many types of contemporary conflict. Discretionary wars—conflicts in which national survival is not an issue and even vital national interests may not be at stake—pose particular challenges for any government which does not explain why the cost being paid in blood and treasure is ‘worth it’.

A Problem in the Making: How Firms Formulate Sharable Problems for Open Innovation Contests

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin W. Wallin ◽  
Georg von Krogh ◽  
Jan Henrik Sieg
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Problem Formulation ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Monetary Reward ◽  
Technical Innovation ◽  
Prior Work ◽  
Exploratory Case Study ◽  
External Sources

Crowdsourcing in the form of innovation contests stimulates knowledge creation external to the firm by distributing technical, innovation-related problems to external solvers and by proposing a fixed monetary reward for solutions. While prior work demonstrates that innovation contests can generate solutions of value to the firm, little is known about how problems are formulated for such contests. We investigate problem formulation in a multiple exploratory case study of seven firms and inductively develop a theoretical framework that explains the mechanisms of formulating sharable problems for innovation contests. The chapter contributes to the literatures on crowdsourcing and open innovation by providing a rare account of the intra-organizational implications of engaging in innovation contests and by providing initial clues to problem formulation—a critical antecedent to firms’ ability to leverage external sources of innovation.

Candy and Drugs for Dinner

2019 ◽  
pp. 572-588
Author(s):  
Sean Guynes
Keyword(s):  
Comic Book ◽  
Gender Politics ◽  
Media Production ◽  
Comics Studies ◽  
Contemporary Media ◽  
The Aesthetic

This chapter links the seemingly disparate but deeply interconnected discourses and practices of contemporary media production, genre, aesthetics, and comics. It offers these arguments through a case study of the popular fantasy comic book Rat Queens and in the process demonstrates the critical utility to comics studies of reading genre, aesthetics, and industry together. The chapter reads Rat Queens through Sianne Ngai’s conception of the zany, cute, and interesting, showing how each of these categories is part of the aesthetic logic of the series, while also showing how each performs or critiques the series’ (superficial) investment in gender politics and the fantasy genre.

The political economy of and practical policies for inclusive growth—a case study of Scotland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Houston ◽  
Georgiana Varna ◽  
Iain Docherty
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Regional Governance ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Inclusive Growth ◽  
Key Policy ◽  
Inclusive Governance ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Civic Institutions

Abstract The concept of ‘inclusive growth’ (IG) is discussed in a political economy framework. The article reports comparative analysis of economic and planning policy documents from Scotland, England and the UK and findings from expert workshops held in Scotland, which identify four key policy areas for ‘inclusive growth’: skills, transport and housing for young people; city-regional governance; childcare; and place-making. These policies share with the ‘Foundational Economy’ an emphasis on everyday infrastructure and services, but add an emphasis on inter-generational justice and stress the importance of community empowerment as much as re-municipalisation. Factors enabling IG policy development include: the necessary political powers; a unifying political discourse and civic institutions; and inclusive governance and participatory democracy.

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