Recent feminist theorists have suggested that the flaneur---a key trope of modernity---had a sister figure who, if not equally on par in importance, figured significantly within the changing modern landscape. The 'flaneuse' also gazed upon the spectacle of urban life, only she did so from the vantage point of the consumer dream-land that was the department store. But how useful is this trope of the flaneuse and what are its, or more specifically, her limitations, particularly within her popular construct as the consumer-observer? This paper explores the concept of the flaneuse, challenges her definition as consumer and questions the usefulness of this metaphor, particularly as it relates to the original construct of the flaneur. This paper is a review of the writing on the flaneuse as well as an exercise in deconstructing one of her likenesses. I argue that the consuming- flaneuse is at odds with the entire premise of flanerie . In the translation from flaneur to flaneuse, the physical similarities may have been accounted for but the ideology of flanerie---what makes the flaneur such a powerful metaphor---has been lost. I suggest, therefore, that a new image of modernity needs to be found for women, one that provides a more balanced perspective of women's experiences and that takes women out of the very limited arenas of consumption.

Due to the fact that construction, maintenance and operation of buildings consume almost 50% of the energy today, architects play a major role in the reduction of energy consumption. The building’s envelope (façades and roof) can have a significant and measurable impact. With regard to overheating and the potential lost of internal heat, transparent parts of the building envelope have a large effect on the building’s energy consumption. Modern, transparent façade systems can fulfill contemporary demands, such as energy conservation, energy production or the degree of visual contact, of sustainable buildings in order to reduce internal heating, cooling, and electrical loads. An analysis of existing shading devices and façade design leads to a comparative analysis of conventional shading devices like horizontal and vertical blinds as well as eggcrate and honeycomb shading structures in a hot-humid climate like Austin, Texas. This study helped evaluating strengths and weaknesses of each device resulting in an optimization process of conventional shading devices. Ultimately, an optimized shading structure has been developed. This project aimed to develop an advanced transparent façade system for a south-oriented commercial façade in Austin, Texas, which fulfills high standards with regard to low energy use, by limiting cooling loads and demands for artificial lighting while avoiding glare and heat losses during the cold season. The optimization has been achieved in providing full shading for a specified period of time throughout the year while providing maximized solar exposure. The shading structure consists out of an array of fixed shading components varying in size and proportion to fulfill criteria like specific views, transparency and aesthetics. The shading structure has been compared to conventional shading devices and analyzed with regard to the reduction of annual solar radiation. The improvement in design and energy consumption contributes to the variety of shading structures for building skins. It is anticipated that the solutions will help to widen the options for aesthetically pleasing, high-performance façades for commercial buildings.

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This thesis aims to explore the rise in the consumption of bottled water and the dominant narratives of normalization that seek to explain it. Commonly understood as the cumulative result of the power of marketing and misinformation, or the gullibility of ‘irrational’ consumers, the pervasive phenomenon of drinking bottled water is explained as another instance of the commodification of everything. However, these narratives contain a rather surprising omission: while it may seem obvious to state that bottled water is about bottles and water, the role of the bottles themselves in enabling the consumption of water ‘on the go’ to become such a ‘normal’ aspect of daily life is noticeably absent. I argue, by drawing upon work in consumer culture studies, sociologies of the brand, and material culture, that we need to reconsider the role of bottled water as both a brand and material object. Following the trajectories of two major brands of bottled water – Perrier and Dasani – through a content analysis of marketing and associated materials, I illustrate some of the diverse ways in which bottles, water, marketing and consumption are interrelated in the divergent and convergent trajectories of ongoing processes of normalization. In conclusion, I consider how such theoretical and empirical observations pose difficult questions and new challenges for those seeking to alter practices of consumption. / Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2007-09-20 16:58:51.16

This research examines loyalty marketing as an empirical case study of consumer surveillance. Focusing on the Canadian context, the research investigates the relationship between the personal information economy and loyalty marketing through several interrelated perspectives. These are marketing and business literature, theoretical frameworks of surveillance, the branding of consumers and corporations, consumer ambivalence towards surveillance and privacy issues, and the mutual shaping of consumers and these programs. These interrelated yet distinctive perspectives provide different means to understand loyalty programs as information portals in the increasingly monitored, measured and marketed lives of consumers. They are a means of surveillance through which corporations systematically collect consumption data in order to influence, manage, entitle, or control consumers (Lyon 2001). The research is based on interviews with loyalty program executives, international survey results, and focus groups to both describe the relationship between corporate information processing and consumers as well as the current and potential social effects and issues embedded in this relationship. Loyalty programs are seen as an important means for conceptualizing contemporary marketing practices, the use of personal information, and personal identity in an information oriented society. They are a complex manifestation of a ‘knowing capitalism’ (Thrift 2005) that has implications far beyond the accumulation of points and the ‘reward yourself’ appeal of participation by contributing to a cultural consumption circuit that perpetuates and reinforces already existing socio-economic differences. / Thesis (Ph.D, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2008-04-24 10:19:22.99

Thesis (M.Sc.Eng.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

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