The thesis analyses the motives of charity and its various forms in the present society. It builds on the critical theory of "studying up", formulated by Laura Nader in 1970s. It considers the difficulties of ethnographic research in an unequal-power terrain, where the anthropologist finds himself in an unwelcome position. Based on a one-year long research of Rotary clubs, the thesis examines the question of whether the charity is a pure act of altruism, following of self-interest, or a combination of both. Charity has lost its significance from its original Christian form over time. Today, it takes the form of a successful marketing tool. For someone it may mean caring for the disadvantaged, for another a simple tool to ease his conscience; for others a convenient pretext for the setting up of a private club. Charity in some respect replaced the Christian confession and like other commodities in the neoliberal system is consumed without creating a long-term relation between the donor and the donee. Rotary International is a worldwide network of private clubs, among its members are leaders in the financial sector, health care, public administration, journalism and science and research. One can therefore examine the Rotary club from an anthropological point of view of emerging capitalism in the...

L’Empire néo-assyrien (934-610 av. J.-C.) a conquis la majeure partie du Proche-Orient en quelques siècles. S’il modifie la carte géopolitique de la région, l’impact concret qu’il exerce sur les territoires avec lesquels il entre en contact est difficile à cerner. La tendance générale était jusqu’à il y a peu de considérer que les Assyriens contrôlaient étroitement toute leur périphérie par une présence importante de militaires et de fonctionnaires, tout en initiant un processus d’« assyrianisation ». Ce travail doctoral propose d’évaluer l’importance et la nature de la présence assyrienne dans le royaume de Hamat (nord-ouest de la Syrie) et de déterminer s’il existe un lien entre présence et influence assyriennes. Les résultats d’une analyse des sources historiques et archéologiques montrent que la présence assyrienne à Hamat était bien plus subtile que ce que l’on aurait pu croire. D’une part, l’élite provinciale assyrienne insistait sur sa légitimation auprès des autochtones et sa coopération avec l’élite locale plutôt que sur l’utilisation de la force pour maintenir le joug de l’Empire. D’autre part, loin d’indiquer une colonisation assyrienne ou un changement de culture, l’influence de la culture assyrienne à Hamat se traduirait plutôt par l’adoption par l’élite locale de nouveaux objets de prestige qui contribuaient à la consommation ostentatoire et à l’émulation compétitive / The major part of the Near East was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire (934-610BC) in a few centuries. If the geopolitical map of the region was altered, the concrete impact it exerted on the territories with which it came into contact is difficult to appraise. Until recently there was a general tendency to consider that the Assyrians tightly controlled their whole periphery by maintaining a high number of soldiers and personnel, while initiating a process of “Assyrianization.” This doctoral thesis tries to assess the importance and nature of the Assyrian presence in the kingdom of Hamat (in northwest Syria) and to determine whether there is a link between the presence and influence of the Assyrians. The results of an analysis of historical and archaeological sources show that the Assyrian presence in Hamat was much more subtle than what might have been envisaged. On the one hand the Assyrian provincial elite insisted on being legitimized with the natives and cooperating with the local elite rather than using force to maintain the yoke of the Empire. On the other hand, far from indicating an Assyrian colonization or a change of culture, the influence of Assyrian culture in Hamat would rather translate into the local elite adopting new objects of prestige that contributed to conspicuous consumption and competitive emulation.

McQuail在討論大眾傳播與社會變遷的關係時，認為社會與文化若互相影響則形成互賴關係。從1973年以降，中華三菱的廣告主要受社會變遷的影響而少反向影響社會，摘要如下： 一、從單一媒體到全傳播媒體　 早期報禁使報紙獨大與寡占，閱聽眾訊息來源有限多只使用報紙；1993年中華進入轎車市場後始大量使用電視搭配報紙露出；2000年因媒體環境複雜，專業媒體代理商針對媒體與目標客層特性進行波段媒體操作，使廣告訊息更有效傳遞。 二、從解說產品到說故事的汽車品牌 自由化時期前，中華三菱因僅有商用車，平面廣告皆採用產品特色的理性溝通，如同Otto Kleppner的廣告螺旋理論，當商品在拓荒期時要訴求功能，在競爭期面臨眾多品牌時要強調商品的獨特性，在鞏固期中華三菱廣告則採故事性較多的感性訴求建立品牌形象。 三、炫耀性消費的文化浮現與普及 從1996年Cefiro出現後，汽車廣告中呈現豐富豪華的配備，消費者進入Baudrillard的「炫耀性消費」社會。中華三菱從早期以商車頭家體驗證言到1997年休旅車推出後，各車廣告皆針對目標客層在廣告中呈現身分的識別與彰顯。 四、廣告訴求從高涉理性到高涉感性 「FCB 廣告模式」中發現中華三菱的廣告從高涉理性商品移轉到高涉感性商品，會發生這樣的現象跟經濟與消費文化有高度正相關，而汽車有關商品理性層面，消費者已有更多能力與訊息可做判斷，至於如何打動則要靠更多的感性訴求。 1970到2010年代的社會，從一個大家彼此認識的恬靜社區逐漸到誰也不認識誰的異化社會(alienated Gesellschaft)，不同階級使用不同的物品彰顯所在的社會結構中位置，中華三菱的廣告則不斷提供並呈現社會中產階級想要模傲的價值觀。 / When McQuail discussed the relationship between mass communications and social changes, he believed that society and culture form into a relationship of interdependence if they influence each other. This research analyzed CMC Motor's advertisements and found them influenced by Taiwanese social changes much more than the degree they have influenced society. A. From a single medium to IMC media Newspapers had been the major information source for the audience in Taiwan. When CMC Motor joined the market in 1993, automobile industry began to apply plenty of TV commercials along with advertisements in the papers. Since 2000, agencies have run advertising on targeted audience making messages effectively delivered. B. A brand from product facts-explanation to story-telling In early days, CMC Motor took rational manners in print advertisements, as Otto Kleppner puts that a product should appeal with its functionality at the pioneering stage; story-enriched emotional appeals have been applied when the company reached the stage of consolidation. C. Emergence and popularization of conspicuous consumption Cefiro hit the market in 1996, advertised as a luxuriously equipped sedan--that was the time when consumers moved into “conspicuous consumption” society. All CMC Motor advertisements have appealed to status identification and recognition of targeted consumers. D. Highly involvement of advertising appeals: from rational to emotional CMC Motor's advertisements transferred into highly involvement/affective from highly involvement/rational,which is quite related to economy and consumption culture. Consumers are able and informed to make decisions nowadays, while emotional appeals are more needed for touching their hearts. From 1970 to 2010, Taiwanese society transformed from a place where people knew each other into an alienated Gesellschaft. Society members from different status use different things to recognize each own position, meanwhile CMC Motor's advertisements keep presenting values the middle-class desire to intimate and to be proud of. automobile advertisement, consumption society, advertising appeal, social change, conspicuous consumption

<p>The purpose of this thesis has been to describe and explain why wholesalers in Stockholm during the eighteenth century acted as they did. This analysis is built on the idea that peoples’ possibilities to act depends on the context in which they live and the person’s network. The starting-point for the analysis is an old discussion if the merchants made any difference in the transformation of society; were they a dynamic element or not? </p><p>In this thesis wholesalers’ social and economic relations are studied from different viewpoints: how they married, how their credit network was built up, and what they consumed. The wholesalers are divided into groups depending on their income. The materials used are inventories, parish registers, registers of tax-payments and biographical books.</p><p>The research shows that the differences in behaviour were small between the income groups. Most of the wholesalers married daughters of other merchants, they lent money to their own family, and they consumed more or less in the same way. There was a big economic gap between the wealthiest wholesalers and the less wealthy. Why their behaviour was nonethless so homogenous depended on their need of a network. The importance of this made them act the same.</p><p>However, the study shows one group that acted a bit differently, wholesalers who belonged to the German congregation. In several ways they were an association in themselves. And the way they act can described as dynamic. Because they did not have an obligation to the Swedish network, they could act differently. </p>

The purpose of this thesis has been to describe and explain why wholesalers in Stockholm during the eighteenth century acted as they did. This analysis is built on the idea that peoples’ possibilities to act depends on the context in which they live and the person’s network. The starting-point for the analysis is an old discussion if the merchants made any difference in the transformation of society; were they a dynamic element or not? In this thesis wholesalers’ social and economic relations are studied from different viewpoints: how they married, how their credit network was built up, and what they consumed. The wholesalers are divided into groups depending on their income. The materials used are inventories, parish registers, registers of tax-payments and biographical books. The research shows that the differences in behaviour were small between the income groups. Most of the wholesalers married daughters of other merchants, they lent money to their own family, and they consumed more or less in the same way. There was a big economic gap between the wealthiest wholesalers and the less wealthy. Why their behaviour was nonethless so homogenous depended on their need of a network. The importance of this made them act the same. However, the study shows one group that acted a bit differently, wholesalers who belonged to the German congregation. In several ways they were an association in themselves. And the way they act can described as dynamic. Because they did not have an obligation to the Swedish network, they could act differently.

Thirty-three young Black men of the Post-Hip Hop Generation (ages 18-25) in Austin, TX, participated in a qualitative study centering on questions investigating Black manhood, media use, and the consumption of popular cultural products. Further, the researcher examined representations of Black men throughout music videos, films, and MySpace profiles. The purpose of this study was to enhance our knowledge about how Black manhood is being defined, conceptualized, and expressed by young Black men, and how significant media and cultural consumption plays a role in their lives. This study probes six questions: RQ1: How do young Black males interpret the images and messages about Black men from mainstream media? RQ2: What types of cultural products are being consumed by young Black men? Why do they consume them? RQ3: How do young Black males define Black manhood? RQ4: Do these cultural products influence the ways that young Black men define/express Black manhood? If so, how? Focus group sessions were conducted throughout the study, which were video recorded and transcribed. Transcriptions were then imported into a qualitative software program known as Atlas.ti, where statements related to the purpose of the study were coded and analyzed. These coded statements were then compared to observations made by the researcher from the examined media representations. / text

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「奢侈平民化」帶動奢侈品牌年年高成長的業績，卻迫使品牌必須面對截然不同的消費者態度與品味。品牌欲持續保有強勢地位，必須了解奢侈在消費者心目中的意義以及消費者如何評估奢侈品牌。因此，本研究欲探討台灣精品消費者認知中構成品牌奢侈的因素，建構衡量品牌奢侈之量表，並以量表探討消費者購買經驗對奢侈認知之影響，及分析個別品牌的現況及優劣勢，研擬具體的競爭策略方向。 本研究選取五個奢侈品牌作為分析標的，進行實證研究，期望達到下列研究目的： (1)驗證品牌奢侈量表，建立評估奢侈品牌的管理工具； (2)探討不同奢侈品牌購買經驗之消費者對各品牌奢侈認知的差異性； (3)探討各奢侈品牌在消費者心目中的知覺定位，擬定未來的策略方向。 依本研究之目的，擬定研究架構及確立抽樣設計，並發放問卷收集消費者資訊。之後以二階驗證性因素分析檢驗品牌奢侈量表模式品質；再利用量表探討不同購買經驗對奢侈認知的影響；最後則以多元尺度分析進行知覺定位分析，經實證分析得到以下研究發現： (1)品牌奢侈包含知覺炫耀性、知覺獨特性、知覺品質、知覺享樂價值與知覺延伸自我等五個構面，其影響力依序排列為知覺享樂價值>知覺延伸自我>知覺獨特性>知覺炫耀性>知覺品質。 (2)台灣地區消費者於購買奢侈品牌之產品後，對品牌奢侈程度的認知無明顯地降低，對品牌的奢侈評價與無購買經驗者沒有顯著差異。 (3)各奢侈品牌的改善重點主要包括知覺品質、知覺享樂價值以及知覺獨特性等三項，其中知覺品質為市場最重要之關鍵因素。 根據實證分析之結果，衍生出許多的策略涵意，包括掌握關鍵因素、規劃競爭策略以及未來發展方向等，可以作為奢侈品牌改善或塑造奢侈形象及規劃策略方向的參考依據。 / “Luxury Democratization” brings great growth to the luxury goods market, but also forced these brands to confront consumers with different attitudes and tastes. As a result, it is critical for luxury brand managers to understand consumer’s perception of brand luxury in order to maintain the brands’ luxury image. This research focused on the confirmation of Brand Luxury Scale to understand Taiwanese cousumers’ perception of brand luxury. Based on the Scale, the influence of purchase experience to luxury perception was tested, and the competitive advantages of five luxury brands were analyzed. Competitive strategies of each brand were futher developed. Research was conducted by using five luxury brands and expected to achieve the following research purposes: (1)Confirm the Brand Luxury Scale to establish a managerial tool for brand luxuriousness evaluation; (2)Use the Brand Luxury Scale to evaluate the influence of purchase experience to luxury perception; (3)Use the Brand Luxury Scale to evaluate consumers’ perception of different brands, and seek to imply different competitive strategies for these brands base on the analysis. After the conduction of research framework, sampling design and data collection, Secondary Comfirmatory Factor Analysis was used to confirm the structure of Brand Luxury Scale. 1-Way ANOVA was used to test the influence of purchase experience to luxury perception. Finally, Multi-Dimensional Scaling Analysis was implied to analyze the perceptual position of each brand. The research findings are as below: (1)Brand Luxury is constructed by five dimensions: Perceived Conspicuousness, Perceived Uniqueness, Perceived Quality, Perceived Hedonic, and Perceived Extended-self. The order of dimensional influence is Perceived Hedonic> Perceived Extended -self> Perceived Uniqueness> Perceived Conspicuousness> Perceived Quality. (2)No difference in brand luxury perception between different purchasing experience consumers was found, showing that the perceptions of brand luxury of Taiwanese consumers’ remain unchanged after purchase. (3)Perceived Quality is the most important dimension of all, and the five luxury brands tested needs to improve in dimensions of Perceived Quality, Perceived Hedonic, and Perceived Uniqueness. According to the results, several managerial implications were derived, including key factors in marketing and competitive strategy of each brand. These strategies can be used in improving the performance of perceived luxuriousness of brand, enhancing brand luxury image, and planning the direction of luxury marketing and brand strategy.

此研究將探討台灣消費者的消費行為對於國外知名零售絣牌Abercrombie and Fitch Co. 本品牌建立位於美國以休閒服裝為主，。此研究會探討品牌知名度， 品牌形象， 購買意向對於這個品牌。 此研究採用便利抽樣調查以定量分析取出結果。本研究採取192個樣本中34.9%為男性，65.1%為女性。研究員採用階層回歸分析調查出本研究調查。調查結果指出消費者俱有高度認知對於品牌知名度和品牌形會有嚴重影響消費者的購買意向。同時，消費者俱有高度炫耀性消費和時尚觀念對於Abercrombie and Fitch Co. 品牌知名度和品牌形的認知會增加。Abercrombie and Fitch Co. 的資訊來源大多數以網路和朋友，因此也提升消費者的品牌知名度對於此品牌。 / In this study the researcher examined the influence of Taiwanese consumers behavior towards overseas retail fashion brand Abercrombie and Fitch Co. The brand was established in the United States of America that offers a range of products such casual sportswear apparel, outerwear, and accessories for men, women, and kids. This study investigated on Taiwanese consumers brand awareness, brand image and purchase intention for the brand. A quantitative analysis will be used for this research by using convenience sampling survey which were distributed online. A total of 192 samples were used for this study (34.9%) of the respondents were male and (65.1%) were female. The researcher used hierarchical multiple regression analysis to test for the results that were needed for this study. The findings indicated that purchase intention is heavily influenced by brand awareness and brand image; meanwhile, consumers with higher levels of conspicuous consumption and fashion conscious orientations have greater brand knowledge and better brand image about Abercrombie and Fitch Co. Getting fashion information from friends and internet led to greater brand awareness about Abercrombie and Fitch Co.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T12:20:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese - Mario Rene Schweriner.pdf: 1860815 bytes, checksum: 975dc1b7d47c23bb610c6facf206fd44 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-03-03 / This thesis has the purpose to prove that, in the consumer society, consumerist individuals transcend their functional relation toward merchandises, trying to obtain, through prestige brands, a spiritual dimension that replaces or complement the traditional religious experiences, and that is fetished. Consumerism is a superlative of purchases, belongings and use, a dependence of non essential goods (superfluous) to satisfy endless desires. It is impossible to satisfy endless desires: therefore the expression transcendental goal of consumption, beyond the capacity to be achieved. The transcendental dimension of consumption, through the symbolism of merchandises potencialized by the prestige brands, give enchantment and sense to the individual, and fulfills the territory that belonged to the family, Church and community. The subject tries to obtain, with the brand-fetished merchandise, a satisfaction of his mimetic desire, and/or compensate absent or fragile values, which is strengthened by advertising. The ultimate meaning of life of materialistic individuals produces immediate effects which are positive for them as well for the economy, but in the future potentially negative for the planet, for the society, as well as for the individuals. / Esta tese objetiva comprovar que, na sociedade de consumo, indivíduos consumistas transcendem sua relação funcional com as mercadorias, buscando nas marcas de prestígio uma dimensão espiritual, que substitui ou complementa as experiências religiosas tradicionais, e que se revela fetichizada. O consumismo é superlativo de compras, posses e uso, uma dependência de bens não essenciais (supérfluos) para atender aos desejos sem fim. É impossível satisfazer a desejos sem fim: daí a expressão meta transcendental do consumo, posicionada além do alcance e da capacidade de atingi-la. A dimensão transcendente do consumo, por meio do simbolismo das mercadorias potencializado pelas marcas de prestígio, propicia encantamento e sentido ao indivíduo, e se presta a preencher o espaço outrora ocupado pela família, Igreja e comunidade. O sujeito busca, na mercadoria fetichizada pela marca, satisfazer seu desejo mimético, e/ou compensar valores frágeis ou ausentes, o que é reforçado pela propaganda. O sentido último da vida dos indivíduos materialistas produz efeitos imediatos que são positivos para eles e para a economia, mas potencialmente negativos mais à frente para o planeta, para sociedade e para os indivíduos.