Chinese consumer journalism is a new type of journalist who has been working in Chinese lifestyle magazines since the 1990s. This study examines the elements and roles of magazine journalists’ professionalisation, and contextualizes them with the main trends of Chinese media development during the transition era. While investigating the daily practice of consumer magazine journalism in China, by exploring the ideology and ethics behind their practices and by discussing the original connection between consumer journalism and other more ‘serious’ forms of journalism in China, the Researcher found that consumer journalists actually share the same journalistic ethics and ideology as their ‘serious’ counterparts. To avoid political retribution and commercial pressure, consumer journalists have reoriented the multiple functions of journalism to present their social role as an ‘information vehicle’, ‘serving the rising class’, with ‘independence from media ownership and commercial forces’ and ‘contributing to culture and traditional society’. The elements involved in this new genre of journalism include financial and operational autonomy from the state, and editorial independence from their international parent magazine companies. Moreover, this genre of journalism shows a trend towards a combination of the internationalist, consumerist and cosmopolitan, unlike other journalism in China.

In order to determine the extent of book marketing on book sales and the principles of resonance that may be linked to sales beyond that predicted by marketing, a demonstrably random sample of 192 books from the population of Young Adult (YA) books available from 2003-2008 in the national U.S. market were scored with estimations of marketing influence and total sales. Three data analysis methods were used: first, a consideration of simple linear regression and variable correlation, termed the 'linear' method; second and third, the 'difference' and 'quadrant' methods, in which books with sales beyond what was predicted by their marketing scores were compared against books with sales below what was predicted by their marketing scores. In the 'difference' and 'quadrant' methods (the differentiation between the two methods will be discussed in detail later), statistically significant differences between the 'beyond' and 'below' sets of books were established as possible points of resonance or dissonance-i.e., key aspects of audience appeal or distaste. These aspects were then compared to the initial results from the 'linear' method and probable patterns of resonance were established. These patterns had important implications pertaining to issues of race, gender, and the belief-systems particular to teenagers. The nine main patterns established were: patterns of meaning/sophistication, patterns of emotion, patterns of estrangement, self-importance, gender, race, socioeconomic status and divine potential. Three auxiliary studies were conducted first to identify the extent of coverlikeability as it pertained to sales, next to establish that young adults (and not their parents or other adults) accounted for the majority of resonance points observed, and finally to estimate the overall effectiveness of self-promotion among authors. Results indicated that cover likeability may increase sales by up to 14.5%, that young adults can reasonably be assumed to be the primary readers of texts, and that author selfpromotion is not significantly connected to increased sales. As a final exercise, the list of possible principles of resonance was used to evaluate the publishing industry's effectiveness at assigning marketing/promotion. Numbers indicate that publisher book marketing is disconnected with principles connected to sales somewhere between 3% and 55% of the time and a more accurate estimate may not be possible without another study. The results of the initial study and the auxiliary studies were used in order to inform the creation of the novel presented in the creative portion of the thesis, Secrets of the Mam; Wata.

The core question this research seeks to answer is: how and why do the publishing and marketing of children’s books in the Arabic-speaking World differ fundamentally from publishing and marketing in larger western children’s books markets? In 2003, the Arab Human Development Report concluded that the Arab book is a “threatened species” (Rogan, 2004). A decade later, this assessment still resonates with Arab book publishers. Sophisticated marketing techniques are still conspicuously absent from the Arabic book publishing industry, and in need of further development. Marketing and market research drives publishing in the West, and advocates the love of books to customers (Squires, 2009, pp. 40-69), (Baverstock, 2008, p: 1), (Bogucki, 2012), (Blythe, 2009, pp. 6-8) while publishing in the Arab World is driven by different priorities. To understand marketing Lebanese children’s literature, given that Lebanon is regarded as the Arab World’s publishing capital exporting 90% of its books, the research employs both qualitative and quantitative methods to collect data, provide a socio-cultural appreciation of the publishing industry, and address the factors affecting book development, customers, and markets. Publishing exists within a framework of influential factors shaping the industry, including legacy publishing houses and family-run publishing houses, mistrust between the different stakeholders in the book chain, and the socio-economic situation in Lebanon and across the Arabic-speaking World. An overview of the Lebanese children’s book publishing houses reflects the traditional methods used to publish and market Lebanese children’s books. Particular attention is given to the crucial role played by book fairs as the key sales channels across the region. A series of surveys demonstrates the importance of picture books for advancing literacy and language capacity among elementary school children as well as creating a love of the Arabic language. The uniqueness of Arab markets is demonstrated when marketing methods used in the UK are applied to the Lebanese market, with variable results. The research highlights the need to further develop marketing mechanisms for Lebanese children’s literature and the need for greater comparative publishing research in the Arabic-speaking World. The research adds to the body of knowledge on Arabic Children’s book, drawing a clear picture of the publishing and marketing of children’s books in Lebanon and across the Arabic-speaking World, offering practical ideas for other Lebanese publishers to work on, and introducing a combination of new methods to understand different players in the book chain process.

The research undertaken for this project relates to the history of the 'Ladybird' imprint together with the company that produced these popular children's books. The period, from 1914 to present day, during which the books were produced, and throughout which the company operated, was one of great technological change in the print industry as well as one of great social change, and the company was shaped by many outside factors. In turn, its books were widely read and, arguably, themselves influenced generations of children. The research covers the books and the company from the mid-nineteenth century to the present day. Various factors that have influenced the company and its books, such as the British education system, the First and Second World wars, changes in print and communications technology, the British library system and bookselling practices, evolving social and political attitudes, the impact of the media and the company's competitors, have all been taken into account. The ways in which the brand has emerged and evolved is discussed within the context of commercial, social and political factors.

This study focuses on the academic publication processes in Saudi Arabia, the barriers that affect researchers' ability to carry out and publish research and the potential advantages and disadvantages offered by the Internet in the area of academic publishing. It addresses the readiness of researchers to adopt innovative approaches to publication including those based on electronic media. There are potential problems faced by researchers wishing to publish; these include length of time required to publish, low publication numbers, referees' demands and conditions, mailing difficulties, lack of communication between researchers and journals, delays in researchers' addressing the reviewers' amendments, the weaknesses of financial support, the cost of using and publishing articles, weaknesses in the distribution of academic journals, their limited international spread because of the use of the Arabic language more than other languages, delays in the printing of research because of the low capability of Universities' printing houses, (resulting from a lack of human and machinery resources), and finally the limited numbers of academic journals written in Arabic. In the view of the author, given that publication of papers and distribution of knowledge through the Internet is faster, more efficient and more effective than the traditional approach; many of the current procedures could be improved through the use of this medium. The data collection and analysis presented in this study addresses the extent to which such benefit could be realised in practice. This research reviews the limitations of research publishing in Saudi Arabia by focusing on the nature of academic journals, in terms of their numbers and purpose, the barriers that academic staff faced when they wished to publish their research work in local or international academic journals, and the attitudes of academics towards electronic publishing and publishing in general. The research comprises interviews, case studies, and questionnaire methods. The most prominent findings from this study are the lack of encouragement for academic staff to conduct and publish research, lack of financial support to the research publishing sector, lack of a research publishing infrastructure and a lack of private sector support for funding research and publishing. An interesting finding is that unlike many other countries, there is no culture of volunteering for work that does not provide direct financial benefit. This could be an important factor affecting the adoption of an online open publishing approach in which reviewers and editors are not paid directly for the work. This research leads to recommendations aimed at giving more focus to academic staff, the application of some regulations and incentives to encourage increased academic research and publishing, increasing the financial support to the research publishing sector, to automate the research publishing process, discarding some unnecessary elements of the process, encouraging and rewarding voluntary work in supporting research publishing, and encouraging the private sector to improve and support academic research in general and research publishing specifically. In conclusion, this study focuses on the academic publication process; the potential advantages and disadvantages offered by the Internet, and the attitudes of scholars towards electronic publishing. This research ultimately aims at proposing and implementing suitable processes and policies to solve these problems and to identifying means of overcoming the research publishing barriers in Saudi Arabia.

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In short, I would argue that our notion of the artist's book came about not through a singular definitive change in the practical mode with which an artist might choose to express himself, as for instance in the familiar Marxist model of greater distribution and economy of the art object through mass-production, but rather in a fundamental and decisive change in the consciousness of both author and reader as a concrete corollary of many different factors. Thus the difficulty of defining precisely what sort of classification one should impose or how to exclude, include or segregate into category the many different tribes of book that might satisfy a particular brief is essentially brushed aside. The familiar skirmishes between the modernist protagonists of mass-production and the paladins of craft over content are immaterial; it is the reader who, just as much (if not more) than the artist/author, establishes the conditions with which the book will become meaningful. "Tropes" by Paul Claydon In PutAbout: a Critical Anthology of Independent Publishing (Maria Fusco and Ian Hunt eds. ) London: Bookworks, 2004. p124. The Everyday Press began its life as a proposal for a Fine Art Practice-based Doctoral Research at the University of Kingston. This research practically questions how publishing artists' books can be considered an art practice in and of itself, it articulates a series of problematic associated with the position of the artist as publisher and the effective conditions of reception of the said books within the field of Artists Books. The Everyday Press is a publisher of artists' books. This means that the practical, actual, critical and historical commitments of The Everyday Press to artists' books are its project. How this is arguably achieved is documented in part by this thesis and made evident by the publications themselves. The present thesis contains all the publications of The Everyday Press to date as well as four contextual volumes that approach the work of The Everyday Press from different perspectives. Through a process of mise en abyme each volume includes one another in a condensed, reflected form. In this four volumes thesis I will specify my use of mise en abyme as a self-reflexive structure and a working model for the research. Together the thesis forms an expose of The Everyday Press as a work in itself. The contextual volumes are organised as follows: Volume One proposes an outline of the field and defines an area of knowledge and professional experience of the publisher. This is done in order to first expose on the one hand the conventional relationship of the press to the field and on the other its attempt at expanding the category through practical publishing. This first volume sets The Everyday Press in a critical and historical moment informed by precedents. Volume Two endeavours to describe the publications, their context of production and content. It constitutes a catalogue of the publications to date and problematises the intentions of the publisher against the actual publications and their possible reception as artists' books. The writing here should at times be understood as a parody of some authoritative interpretive modes related to artists books, particularly those seeking affiliation and original contributions. Those intentions are as laden with problematic a priori conceptions, unshakable because they are always already present to the interpretive paradigm that bypasses the reader and his ability to make his mind up for himself. Volume Three marks the traces of the passage of a few artists' books through time and space and produces an account of the field through revealing anecdotes and encounters. This account of the field is also where some of the networks of dissemination of the books are exposed as productive sites and encounters rather than as neutral vehicles for distribution. The books are released through distributive networks, bookshops, museums and the Internet. The research documents and interrogates how such networks may have been formed in the past and how the channels of distribution constitute an essential part of the Field of Artists Books. Volume Four is a bibliography of books and catalogues on artists' books. The bibliography takes stock of a wide variety of publications on artists' books to draw attention to the kind of documentary trace of distribution, circulation and reception they represent That overlooked history of the practice of exhibiting, publishing, disseminating and collecting artist's books during the last forty years is primarily focused on bibliographic data where the main criteria is bibliographical information rather than critical writing or texts on artists' books. My research gathered and compiled these documents in order to provide an aspect of the field often ignored. In its final form it aims to be a source book of exhibition catalogues, collection catalogues, monographs, dealership catalogues and other lists published to inform, promote, describe, show, distribute and circulate artists' books. A series of exhibition of that material and the works of The Everyday Press further the work of public dissemination of the present research. Although this is not stated repeatedly in the thesis, the material presence of The Everyday Press publications should be assumed throughout. The reader can take for granted that books were exchanged, gifted and pushed on anyone remotely interested in the subject of artists' books I came in contact with in the course of the research. My long-standing experience as an art book dealer provided the background knowledge and direct connections to doing the work of production, distribution and research necessary for the PhD. That background no doubt played a role in wanting to produce new books with other artists, possibly wanting to make the kind of books I didn't see because they didn't exist. While all the people contacted for the purpose of this enquiry were aware of my being an artist undertaking a work of research related to artists' books also consisting in a publisher, they welcomed my questions and the books I came with as a genuine publishing project. Explaining what I was doing was not always easy and The Everyday Press publications were also a calling card for me to contact artists, publishers, dealers, editors etc. Paradoxically it is the work of research itself (for example interviewing a publisher or an librarian, or looking for reference books in a dealer's basement) that represents a practical insertion of The Everyday Press into the field (where publishers compare notes, the librarian gladly accepts a new free book and dealers sometimes share some knowledge). As we will see in the thesis, the category of artists' books is full of those contradictions and paradoxes: to begin with artists' books are viewed and received as Art but released as books.

This thesis is a response to Darnton’s challenge that ‘more work needs to be done on the bookseller as a cultural agent’, and offers as a case study the career of the early nineteenth- century Glasgow bookseller John Smith, Youngest (1784-1849), and the company John Smith and Son (founded 1751). Early nineteenth-century Glasgow was developing into a major centre of commerce, with trade and finance taking full advantage of the new industrial age and burgeoning population. In comparison to Edinburgh, there has been comparatively little research on Glasgow’s role in the contemporary book trade. John Smith, Youngest, was the third of three generations of booksellers of the namesake family firm, merchant baillie, Secretary to the Maitland Club, and member of the contemporary Glasgow cultural and social elite. Smith was a devout Presbyterian, and this religious faith was highly influential on and guided his personal and business lives. I argue that this aspect of his life is the key to understanding John Smith. This is the first thorough study of John Smith. Using publications of Smith’s imprint and his social network, I show the influence Smith had on the book trade of the period through his Presbyterian religious faith, how he maintained his business, and which outside pressures were brought to bear on the family firm; as well as determining what contribution he made to the cultural milieu of the period through his business and philanthropic ventures. This will be the first study on the book trade of Glasgow from a bookseller’s perspective.

The University of Huddersfield Press, re-launched in 2010, is an open access publisher of peer reviewed journals, monographs and sound recordings. The research to inform this thesis was conducted between 2011 and 2015. The primary research question of this thesis and accompanying business plan is to demonstrate how the University of Huddersfield Press can establish a viable and innovative business model. Subsidiary research questions are to establish how the output of the Press will contribute to and enhance the University’s strategic objectives and to indicate how the Press, as an open access publisher, can contribute to the world of scholarly communication by increasing the literature on New University Presses. As such, a number of chapters have been published as journal articles. The thesis introduces the University of Huddersfield Press before setting out the motivation, background and focus of the study. The rise of New University Presses (NUPs), the open access movement, the role of the repository and the library as publisher are examined and placed in context to the Press. The four cases studies included in this thesis are not multiple case studies, rather they are embedded units of analysis in a single practice based case study, which allows the reader to follow a number of different reading paths. The case studies use observation, in depth investigations and a personal account of the author’s work in developing the Press, which will give new insight into open access publishing by NUPs. The first case study presents data and findings regarding the Press monograph publishing imitative. It draws on external literature and reflections of experience of the Press in order to derive lessons for best practice on future management of the Press. The second case study takes an in depth look at journal publishing within the Press. It looks at how the Huddersfield Open Access Publishing (HOAP) Project was used to launch a number of successful journals using the institutional repository and has helped to build the reputation of the Press in the University and wider community. Lessons learned are examined in order to recommend a more sustainable future for the Press. The third case study involves one of the journals to be published by the Press, Fields: journal of Huddersfield student research. It outlines the rationale for Fields in an institutional context, including the process of setting up an online, open access, multidisciplinary journal for student research. Year one of the project, which saw the journal go from proposal to fully fledged publication, is analysed and lessons learned are discussed. The final case study investigates Huddersfield Contemporary Records (HCR) and presents a case study of music publishing within the University. This case study stands independently and therefore begins with a review of the literature specifically on music industry issues pertinent to HCR. The case study includes a suggested business model and workflow for future releases. The thesis analyses the results and findings from the case studies in order to suggest a viable and innovative business model for the Press. This addresses questions of sustainability, arising from the case studies. The thesis develops Hahn’s programme and publication level business planning in library publishing before providing evidence of the reputational value of the Press to the University of Huddersfield. This is practically demonstrated in the Business Plan, which outlines the future for the Press for the next five years. The accompanying business plan will help to shape future thinking regarding this form of publishing.