Suchergebnisse

Urban mindscapes are structures of thinking about a city, built on conceptualisations of the city's physical landscape as well as on its image as transported through cultural representation, memory and imagination. This book pursues three main strands of inquiry in its exploration of these 'landscapes of the mind' in a European context. The first strand concerns the theory and methodology of researching urban mindscapes and urban 'imaginaries'. The second strand investigates some of the representations, symbols and collective images that feed into our understanding of European cities. It discusses representations of the city in literature, film, television and other cultural forms, which, in James Donald's phrase, constitute 'archives of urban images'. The third and last section of the volume concentrates on the relationship between the collective mindscapes of cities, urban policy and the practice of city marketing.

Intro -- Title Page -- Foreword -- Introduction and About the Book -- Moving in the Right Direction -- PART 1 -- Chapter1 -- Chapter2 -- Chapter3 -- Chapter4 -- Chapter5 -- Chapter6 -- Chapter7 -- Chapter8 -- Chapter9 -- Chapter10 -- Chapter11 -- PART 2 -- Chapter12 -- Chapter13 -- Chapter14 -- Chapter15 -- Chapter16 -- Chapter17 -- Chapter18 -- Helplines in India -- Acknowledgements -- Endnotes -- Copyright.

In order to elicit correlates of Maruyama's (1992) mindscape types, 144 respondents from Germany, the Netherlands and the Republic of Georgia (70 men, 74 women, 48 from each country) were given TOB figures and mindscape pictures. Furthermore, their attitudes towards two technology items (high-speed trains and nuclear power) were registered. An optimal scaling procedure (OVERALS) was used for analyzing the cultural and gender-specific differences with regard to the mindscape types. Group differences in the high-tech attitudes were tested by means of Chi-square analyses. The meaning of the results is discussed from the viewpoints of hypothesis testing as contrasted to the construction of an open-ended taxonomy.

This article compares the reclusive ideal extolled by Chinese poet Tao Qian (T'ao Ch'ien or Tao Yuan Ming) and the solitude that Ralph Waldo Emerson regards as a prerequisite to self-trust. Tao Qian and Emerson are fathers of Chinese and American pastorals respectively. Both the Chinese poet and the New England sage disparage the social, economical, and political pressures that curtail individual spirit and enforce conformity. Both deem nature to be at once salubrious and edifying, and discern correspondences between ecological and moral well-being. Their differences are no less pronounced. Tao Qian, who considers the countryside to be essential to solitude, is content to lead a self-effacing pastoral existence. Emerson, who sees nature as ancillary to the divine spark within each human being, avers that the enlightened soul can find solitude anywhere. While Tao Qian believes that he can only be true to his high-minded nature by literally removing himself from the world of affairs, Emerson never shirks his responsibility as a public intellectual and continues to weigh in with a piece of his mind concerning pressing social and political issues.

This article compares the reclusive ideal extolled by Chinese poet Tao Qian (T'ao Ch'ien or Tao Yuan Ming) and the solitude that Ralph Waldo Emerson regards as a prerequisite to self-trust. Tao Qian and Emerson are fathers of Chinese and American pastorals respectively. Both the Chinese poet and the New England sage disparage the social, economical, and political pressures that curtail individual spirit and enforce conformity. Both deem nature to be at once salubrious and edifying, and discern correspondences between ecological and moral well-being. Their differences are no less pronounced. Tao Qian, who considers the countryside to be essential to solitude, is content to lead a self-effacing pastoral existence. Emerson, who sees nature as ancillary to the divine spark within each human being, avers that the enlightened soul can find solitude anywhere. While Tao Qian believes that he can only be true to his high-minded nature by literally removing himself from the world of affairs, Emerson never shirks his responsibility as a public intellectual and continues to weigh in with a piece of his mind concerning pressing social and political issues.

This article explores the relationship between the science community and the bioethical regulation of human embryonic stem cell research (hESR) in the laboratory and in daily life in Japan. It develops a perspective that takes into account the diversity of views among principle investigators (PIs) and scientists working in the laboratory. Deploying Eviatar Zerubavel's notion of social mindscapes and the notion of mindsets, I elucidate the relationships between the personal and the professional, scientists and the public. Introducing the concept of mindset switching, I argue that scientists' views of embryonic substances cannot be understood adequately in terms of the rhetoric of boundary making alone. The use of cognitive notions of social mindscape applied to situations in the life of scientists has far-reaching consequences for both the implementation of research regulation involving respect for the embryo and for the public discussion on the use of embryonic substances. The article is based on interviews with over thirty scientists working with embryos and stem cells during fieldwork visits in eleven science institutes in Japan.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to critically investigate the competitive situation in China's retail sector after its three‐year transition period upon accession to the WTO. Based on this suggestions for domestic retailers' development strategies are made.Design/methodology/approachThe landscape of China's retail sector is given first in the paper. A critical review of variations of regional markets following the models adopted by Swanson and Cui and Liu is carried out. A focus group discussion is conducted. Analysis of the focus group discussion highlights the strategic issues of retail development and expansion.FindingsSynthesis of recent studies on China's retail market and results generated from the focus group indicate that the development patterns in the regional markets could vary. Domestic and international retailers enjoy different advantages and face different challenges in their expansion. Issues concerning learning, infrastructure development, government policy and business culture are addressed.Research limitations/implicationsThis research provides a holistic view of China's retail market and its evolution after it became totally open to foreign investment at the end of 2004.Practical implicationsThe synthesis of current studies and discussion of focus group data provide domestic retailers with a "mindscape" of the evolving market they are operating in. This mindscape enables Chinese retailers to articulate mid‐to‐long term strategies in their expansion and respond to the dynamic market situation effectively.Originality/valueThis study provides a snapshot of China's retail sector at a critical transitional stage. The discussion serves as a starting point to conceptualise the development patterns of an important emerging market.