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This thesis describes the results of an ethnographic investigation of a group of new middle class respondents studying GCE subjects at a college of further education. It seeks to describe and account for the origins and effects of their subcultural style. It further attempts to examine some of the social consequences of acts of affirmation and challenge on their part, and to add to a body of theory examining the relationships which exist between cultural production, cultural reproduction and social reproduction. The thesis is arranged in eight chapters. '!he first of these critically examines existing theories relating to the origins and effects of youth subcultures. Chapter two considers a number of features likely to c~aracterise a more adequate (than hitherto) analysis of both the phenomenal form and structural determinants of youth subcultural practice. In chapter three, I describe the manner in which the sample of respondents in the present research was constituted, aNi the way in which the~ ethnographic fieldwork was organised. The fourth chapter moves :3 to a consideration of the class and gender problematics likely to confront subjects from the new middle class locations occupied by respondents in the present study. Chapters five to seven pr'3sent the findings of the ethnographic investigations carried out at three principal sites of respondents' experiences the home, the site of educational experience and the subcultural site. These chapters further seek to analyse articulations between practices across sites of experience in the constitution of cultural effects. Such themes are further developed in the final chapter of the thesis where the effects of such articulations for the processes of cultural reproduction and transformation are examined. In doing this, the findings of the present research are related to theories concerning the cultural and social reproduction of class and gender relations, and a grammar of modes of cultural affirmation and challenge is developed which analyses the origins and effects of articulations between social practices across sites of experience in terms of their overall contribution to hegemonic and counter-hegemonic tendencies.

In the cultural anthropological tradition, we study how people in a group think about things that somehow go together. Using hashtags, we introduce a series of methods to trace the conceptual contours in social media conversations. Hashtags align ideas and reveal the latent structures and symbolic boundaries within the conversation, detecting the domains, features, and sources of tension in the network of diverse perspectives and experiences conveyed in the conversation. We demonstrate how distinctive and affiliated hashtags, Hashtag Network Maps, and ImageQuilts can connect and aggregate concepts and render the shared and divergent meanings that structure the space. This research features a case study of #homegym tagged messages posted at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gym closures disrupted established exercise regimes, while lockdown and work-at-home orders blessed others with newfound time to work out – inciting a spike in demand for gym equipment sales. First, we demonstrate our approach using a sample of Twitter posts with the #homegym hashtag, gathered between March 15 to April 16, 2020, from a COVID-19 database and a selection of Instagram photos. Next, we study the people, messages, and images to map the subgroups, social dynamics, and ideologies that constitute the #homegym leisure space. Finally, we draw methodological and practical implications to assist marketing researchers and practitioners in harnessing social media conversations to derive timely insights.

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This study examines how rave subculture is constructed differently by participants of the rave scene and by external observers of the rave scene. Mainstream national media articles are compared to interviews with self-identified ravers to understand how rave subculture is constructed. Subcultural and Post-Subcultural theory support this method and illustrates how concepts of subcultures have changed over time. The construction of rave culture by the media as associated with drug abuse and illegal activity attracted drug abusers and irresponsible young people to the rave scene. This consequently led to a change in the rave scene and a criminalization of rave culture and the rave promoters through passing of the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act

The performance of identity is an often studied subject matter. One identity, Geek, and the larger subculture to which it is attached (Geek culture) has become a growing field of study in since the turn of the millennium, mirroring the growth of the subculture itself. The question then is how do Geek's perform this identity and create an idea of what a Geek is? If there is a place to examine this performance then it is the growing event of comic book conventions. At these events thousands of individuals gather to celebrate, interact with, purchase and play with the commodities of Geek; comic books, video games, anime, manga and film. In this space, as I will discuss, the spectrum of performance as outline by Richard Schechner in Performance Theory occurs in simultaneous forms inside the convention. While there is ritual, there is also play, and theater, and all three may be occurring at any one time through any one individual. This is partially brought on by the presence of cosplayers, convention attendees who dress up as fictional characters, and perform a separate role that also speaks to their own identity. Furthermore, the presence of what Victor Turner terms social dramas in the space of the panel discussion complicate and re-form not only individual identities, but also Geek culture identity as well. Underlying the interaction of identity with space/place is the, as Marc Agé terms it, non-place nature of the convention center itself. That the convention center does not bear the trappings of a typical anthropological place (such as history or tradition) influences the impact of the performance and the identity created therein. Consequently, the identity held will be challenged by the temporary nature, not just of the event, but also the place which contains it. I attended two comic book conventions in the state of Florida to examine this phenomena using my own experience as part of the study, as well as interviewing other convention attendees and people within my group. I will move through the space of the conventions exploring my personal relation to the identity of Geek and how others perform the identity while trying to explore what does it mean to be Geek?

<p>The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze how the online vinyl record network functions from both a consumer and retailer perspective, in order to gain an understanding of how the Internet facilitates the activity within a consumer culture. The vinyl record industry is experiencing a revival, with an upswing in sales and media attention and a significant increase in the amount of online trading. This inductive study contains data from qualitative interviews with ten vinyl record consumers and four vinyl record retailers, as well as observations of three relevant online forums. The study shows that the online vinyl record network is an e-tribe built upon a number of genre-specific member groups where the Internet facilitates consumption by informing, inspiring, and allowing network members to interact.  Among the respondents, consumers with sufficient resources in their offline network rely to a lesser extent on their online network for interaction. The study further indicates that retailers have little influence on the network, compelling them to adapt the information and structure of their marketing activities to the preferences of the individual consumer groups. In all, the online vinyl record network does contribute to the recent growth of the vinyl record industry.</p>

The purpose of this thesis is to describe and analyze how the online vinyl record network functions from both a consumer and retailer perspective, in order to gain an understanding of how the Internet facilitates the activity within a consumer culture. The vinyl record industry is experiencing a revival, with an upswing in sales and media attention and a significant increase in the amount of online trading. This inductive study contains data from qualitative interviews with ten vinyl record consumers and four vinyl record retailers, as well as observations of three relevant online forums. The study shows that the online vinyl record network is an e-tribe built upon a number of genre-specific member groups where the Internet facilitates consumption by informing, inspiring, and allowing network members to interact.  Among the respondents, consumers with sufficient resources in their offline network rely to a lesser extent on their online network for interaction. The study further indicates that retailers have little influence on the network, compelling them to adapt the information and structure of their marketing activities to the preferences of the individual consumer groups. In all, the online vinyl record network does contribute to the recent growth of the vinyl record industry.

Modern day ocean voyaging in private sailing vessels dates back to the turn of the century. Despite this, the present thesis is the first academic study of ocean cruising to be completed. Of the thousands of people who make ocean voyages only a few hundred are committed to the lifestyle of cruising, that is, see cruising as a whole way of life that they will pursue indefinitely. The thesis first presents an ethnography of the lifestyle of cruising with particular attention to (1) what activities constitute the lifestyle, (2) why people cruise, and (3) what values, attitudes, and characteristics attach to the participants. Second, the thesis relates this ethnography to several theories in sociology and psychology. In sociology, subculture and deviance theories are used to place cruising in the context of the wider scholastic study of society. Pearson (1979) and others are drawn upon in placing cruising in the context of subcultures while the work of Walter Buckley (1967) is used to modify deviance theory to account for the apparently positive nature of the deviance inherent in the cruising lifestyle. In psychology, theories of autotelic rewards, enjoyment, and human satisfaction are used to understand the experience of and motivation to cruise. In addition, theories of personal growth developed by Hampden-Turner (1970) and others are applied to cruisers and their way of life. The thesis concludes that cruisers, as cultural 'heroes', can be seen as affirmative deviants. That is to say, given an humanistic and western individualistic value system their deviance can be seen as contributing to their individual health and growth, and to positive social evolution.

Modern day ocean voyaging in private sailing vessels dates back to the turn of the century. Despite this, the present thesis is the first academic study of ocean cruising to be completed. Of the thousands of people who make ocean voyages only a few hundred are committed to the lifestyle of cruising, that is, see cruising as a whole way of life that they will pursue indefinitely. The thesis first presents an ethnography of the lifestyle of cruising with particular attention to (1) what activities constitute the lifestyle, (2) why people cruise, and (3) what values, attitudes, and characteristics attach to the participants. Second, the thesis relates this ethnography to several theories in sociology and psychology. In sociology, subculture and deviance theories are used to place cruising in the context of the wider scholastic study of society. Pearson (1979) and others are drawn upon in placing cruising in the context of subcultures while the work of Walter Buckley (1967) is used to modify deviance theory to account for the apparently positive nature of the deviance inherent in the cruising lifestyle. In psychology, theories of autotelic rewards, enjoyment, and human satisfaction are used to understand the experience of and motivation to cruise. In addition, theories of personal growth developed by Hampden-Turner (1970) and others are applied to cruisers and their way of life. The thesis concludes that cruisers, as cultural 'heroes', can be seen as affirmative deviants. That is to say, given an humanistic and western individualistic value system their deviance can be seen as contributing to their individual health and growth, and to positive social evolution.