The Epistemic Consumption Object and Postsocial Consumption: Expanding Consumer‐Object Theory in Consumer Research

We introduce the concept of the epistemic consumption object. Such consumption objects are characterized by two interrelated features. First, epistemic consumption objects reveal themselves progressively through interaction, observation, use, examination, and evaluation. Such layered revelation is accompanied by an increasing rather than a decline of the object’s complexity. Second, such objects demonstrate a propensity to change their “face‐in‐action” vis‐à‐vis consumers through the continuous addition or subtraction of properties. The epistemic consumption object is materially elusive and this lack of ontological stability turns the object into a continuous knowledge project for consumers. Via this ongoing cycle of revelation and discovery, consumers become attached to the object in intimate and quasi‐social ways. Therefore, the concept of the epistemic consumption object brings the “object” directly into theorizations of consumer‐object relations, extending current theories of relationship, product involvement, and consumption communities. We draw from research with individual online investors to illustrate the theory of the epistemic consumption object.     

An African fertilizer crisis : Origin and economic effects in the Gambia

In 1985, fertilizer did not arrive in the Gambia in time for the cropping season, since a fertilizer grant was not being properly managed and coordinated. The costs of such policy failure are high. Fertilizer use was down by 64%. In this situation of scarcity, fertilizer use was even more skewed than before towards rich farmers. Output lost was about 10% of agriculture's GDP. Even in normal years in the Gambia, fertilizer use in millet and groundnuts is found far below optimal levels.     

Transformations in Spanish trade union membership

Trade union membership in Spain has undergone several transformations during the long employment boom (1994–2007) and the following crisis. New generations of workers with different attitudes towards trade unionism, the incorporation of female workers and immigrants have changed the forms and contents of the workers' organisations in Spain.     

通过城市化阅读珠三角未来

在珠三角地区的城市化进程中,位于三角洲最边缘的香港一直起着重要的作用,至少是在经济上和文化上。由于香港特殊的政治和经济地位,三角洲地区的城市争相谋求与其建立最佳的关系,并且努力争取香港之下领头羊的地位。     

都市景观与景观都市性

在对珠江三角洲乃至中国城市化发展研究中,如近期出版的《都市景观创世纪:华南的珠三角》,我们运用了“景观”这一术语。