Emotions and dissonance in ‘ethical’ consumption choices

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of emotions and the prevalence of dissonant/incongruent choice behaviour within the context of ethical consumption. Based on 31 in-depth interviews with British consumers, the findings demonstrate that consumers consciously indulge in ‘ethical’ and ‘unethical’ behaviour (as defined by respondents themselves), often within short time frames, and that they often compensate for unethical choices by making ethical choices later on (and vice versa). The study provides evidence that positive and negative emotions are a key driver of this dissonant behaviour. Guilt is the most salient emotion, and a taxonomy of guilt in this context is derived from the data. Consumers are found to employ guilt-management strategies in order to sustain contradictory behaviour and manage cognitive dissonance. A conceptual framework is derived in order to summarise the observed role of emotions in ethical consumer choice. The paper also provides additional explanations of the manifestation of the attitude–behaviour gap.     

Women’s Careers at the Start of the 21st Century: Patterns and Paradoxes

In this article we assess the extant literature on women’s careers appearing in selected career, management and psychology journals from 1990 to the present to determine what is currently known about the state of women’s careers at the dawn of the 21st century. Based on this review, we identify four patterns that cumulatively contribute to the current state of the literature on women’s careers: women’s careers are embedded in women’s larger-life contexts, families and careers are central to women’s lives, women’s career paths reflect a wide range and variety of patterns, and human and social capital are critical factors for women’s careers. We also identify paradoxes that highlight the disconnection between organizational practice and scholarly research associated with each of the identified patterns. Our overall conclusion is that male-defined constructions of work and career success continue to dominate organizational research and practice. We provide direction for a research agenda on women’s careers that addresses the development of integrative career theories relevant for women’s contemporary lives in hopes of providing fresh avenues for conceptualizing career success for women. Propositions are identified for more strongly connecting career scholarship to organizational practice in support of women’s continued career advancement.     

Women's Land Rights and Rural Social Movements in the Brazilian Agrarian Reform

This article examines the evolution of the demand for women's land rights in the Brazilian agrarian reform through the prism of the three main rural social movements: the landless movement, the rural unions and the autonomous rural women's movement. Most of the credit for raising the issue of women's land rights rests with women within the rural unions. That women's formal land rights were attained in the constitutional reform of 1988 was largely a by–product of the effort to end discrimination against women in all it dimensions. The achievement of formal equality in land rights, nonetheless, did not lead to increases in the share of female beneficiaries of the reform, which remained low in the mid–1990s. This was largely because securing women's land rights in practice was not a top priority of any of the rural social movements. Moreover, the main social movement determining the pace of the agrarian reform, the landless movement, considered class and gender issues to be incompatible. By the late 1990s, nonetheless, there was growing awareness that failure to recognize women's land rights was prejudicial to the development and consolidation of the agrarian reform settlements and thus the movement. The growing consensus among all the rural social movements of the importance of securing women's land rights, coupled with effective lobbying, encouraged the State in 2001 to adopt specific mechanisms for the inclusion of women in the agrarian reform.     

‘A Whole New World’: Mothers' Technologically Mediated Leisure

This study explored the roles of an online social networking site called Momstown.ca as a form of technologically mediated leisure in mothers' experiences of online connections. Active interviews with 22 members of Momstown.ca revealed that mothers encounter limiting ideologies of motherhood reinforced through the separation of the public and private spheres. This separation constructs mothers' experiences as less visible, less socially relevant, and confined within private spaces. Through mothers' technologically mediated leisure, the public and private spheres were blurred and ideologies of motherhood were both reinforced and resisted. Mothers demonstrated distinct social dynamics through their mediated leisure suggesting the cyberfeminist potential for transformations in public discourse and private practice that may uniquely contribute to alleviating the contemporary challenges of mothers' increased social isolation and an anxiety-inducing culture.     

Developing the evidence base of patient and public involvement in health and social care research: the case for measuring impact

While patient and public involvement (PPI) in health and social care research has progressed successfully in the last decade, a range of difficulties with the evidence base exist, including poor understanding of the concept of impact, limited theorization and an absence of quantitative impact measurement. In this paper, we argue that a paradigm change towards robust measurement of the impact of involvement in research is needed to complement qualitative explorations. We argue that service users should be collaboratively involved in the conceptualization, theorization and development of instruments to measure PPI impact. We consider the key advantages measurement would bring in strengthening the PPI evidence base through a greater understanding of what works, for whom, in what circumstances and why.     

“There is Life after Breast Cancer”: Nine Vignettes Exploring Dragon Boat Racing for Breast Cancer Survivors

The following representations are about lived experiences with dragon boat racing (DBR) for breast cancer survivors. DBR is a leisure pursuit focused on life after medical treatment for breast cancer. Previous research focused on physiological benefits of DBR and overlooked the broader health implications of this leisure pursuit. Data were collected through active interviews with twelve participants. Using creative analytic practice, the collection of stories included in this text reveal DBR experiences from a survivor's standpoint. The stories disclose changes to a sense of self, personal identity, and health and well-being. The use of short stories contributes to the dialogue of creative analytic practice within leisure studies.