Artykuły w czasopismach na temat „Champion Paper and Fibre Company”

_ It was a testimony to the impact science projects have had on the shale sector that kicked off the 15th Annual SPE Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference and Exhibition (HFTC) held in the Houston area. When the technical experts and executives gathered, they discussed how, after years of subsurface study, past beliefs have been dispelled and new learnings translated into multimillion- to billion-dollar business decisions. At the conference’s plenary session, attendees learned from Devon Energy about why the oil company has become a vocal champion of refracturing and the influence it had on a recent acquisition that doubled its position in the Eagle Ford Shale. Bakken Shale producer Hess Corp. tied more than a decade of work to its experimental wells that use fractures from other wells to produce oil, as well as its commitment to developing automated fracturing despite facing obstacles in industry collaboration. SM Energy also showcased a double minifrac test as an example of the new experiments guiding its unconventional strategy in the Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk formations found in south Texas. A closer look at what they had to say is here. Betting Big on Refracturing In SPE 212340, Devon offered fresh details on its big refracturing study in the Eagle Ford Shale—one that played into its decision to spend $1.8 billion last year on an acquisition in the south Texas play. It involved two parent wells originally stimulated in 2013 and then refractured in January 2022. As a result, Devon reports the respective estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) from each well soared by 27% and 46%. These are wells that had been producing about 20 to 25 B/D, and according to data shared in the paper, at least one of them topped 1,000 B/D in the weeks following the refracturing. Kourtney Brinkley described the recovery boost as a “significant step change” that helped the company realize a “need to incorporate recompletions into our development plans as we go forward.” The drilling and completions engineer who helped lead the project for Devon reported that the operator’s wider refrac program in the play has seen incremental EUR increases as high as 75% with the average being at around 50%. The figures translate to a rate of return between 97 to 220%, which she said makes them “very economic projects.” The project Brinkley outlined at the conference fell under the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) hydraulic fracturing test site program. With the help of federal funding, Devon was able to deploy an enviable array of diagnostic tools. An observation lateral was drilled to monitor refracturing along with new completions on the pad. About 420 ft of core was taken from the observation well to capture some of the pad’s parent well fracture system. The diagnostic kit included multiple fiber-optic installations, sealed wellbore pressure monitoring, downhole pressure gauges, ultrasonic imaging, and more. With this rare suite of technologies, Devon was able to learn exactly how poor the initial parent completions were while later seeing just how effective its refrac designs ended up being. First came the parent core-through that showed while a hydraulic fracture was present every 10 ft on average, the number of propped fractures represented just 8% of the total found. Ultrasonic imaging aligned, showing initial completion design netted a cluster efficiency rate of just 19%. Post-refrac, that number was increased to over 80%, which implies to Devon that there are a good degree more propped fractures today.

The purpose of the paper is to review and evaluate the performance of a specific type of globally successful innovative company introduced to scientific literature as “hidden champion” by Simon (1990), using a combination of traditional financial key performance indicators (KPIs) with the modern evaluation method of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model. The results showed that there are many areas in the selected company where EFQM allows building an effective management system, applied as a benchmarking tool for using the experience of leading companies. The joint utilisation of the KPIs and the EFQM model helps to create an objective picture and evaluate the organization in a relatively complex way. This paper provides in-depth insights into the application of new models in practice that are still scarce and may serve as a base for further research realized on larger samples. This work shows for the first time the application of EFQM commonly used in large organizations, for the special category of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) companies called “hidden champions” (HCs). In general, there is a lack of studies in domestic literature devoted to the concept of “hidden champions”. This paper contributes to this field from the perspective of quality management, and it provides also valuable insight for practice.

PurposePurpose of study: Indian fibre cement industry is at crossroads on account of the dropping margins attributed to the dynamic internal and external challenges faced by it. The ever-changing technology, the increasing availability of substitutes and changing demographic consumption profiles have questioned the survival of this industry. Internal and external factors affecting an organization provide inputs to the strategic decision-making. Diversity of factors and prioritization is a major challenge encountered for developing a strategy for the organization.Design/methodology/approachStrategic analysis in the paper proposes to rank important key variables through SWOT-AHP methodology affecting a fibre cement company. Computed priorities of SWOT factor could help in formation of management approach to key decisions facing the firm. It is a descriptive research design. The problem itself has multiple SWOT criteria that have been evaluated in three phases with the help of industry experts and AHP criteria.FindingsSWOT-AHP analysis has been a strategic fit for qualitative analysis of factors. The important ranked factors affecting the organization have been found to be brand name, capability of both the management and technical, quality of the product, and the efficient customer service and marketing reach/distribution.Research limitations/implicationsRanking of key SWOT factors found through AHP methodology will help the firm under study to develop and plan strategic alternatives to counter all challenges faced by them.Practical implicationsThe management of the firm under study shall be benefited in fine-tuning the overall strategy of the organization.Originality/valueThis paper proposes a hybrid SWOT-AHP strategic analysis first time in this sector. The affecting factors have been quantified and ranked to identify priority factors for the firm to focus.

Despite a range of environmental concerns, railway companies worldwide continue to use timber sleepers to maintain their existing timber lines. In recent years reinforced polymer sleepers have emerged as a potential alternative but because of their high price their uptake has been very slow. In Australia a number of exciting new developments in reinforced polymer sleepers have recently been introduced into the market place by Carbonloc Pty Ltd, a spin-off company of the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba. This paper will discuss the details of these new polymer sleepers and compare their performance to the polymer sleepers that have been available in the market for some time.

This paper deals with an evaluation of long-term experimental work carried out in cooperation with concrete suppliers and a specific company (named Sobriety). The key part of this work is focused on the experimental determination of secant modulus of elasticity and Poisson's Ratio of special concrete (self-compacting concrete, steel fibre reinforced concrete, polymer fibre reinforced concrete, specific high-strength concrete). Two different real-time approaches were used to detect modulus of elasticity. In parallel, both approaches - the (European) standard approach and the DIC (2D DIC; 3D DIC with varying lengths in the vertical direction) - were applied.

The paper summarizes the results and evaluation of tests of the resistance of glass-fibre-concrete components used for footbridge deck cover subjected to wind loading actions. The main aims of this research was not only to verify the objective load-carrying capacity and serviceability of covering panels, but also to verify the use of glass-fibre-concrete and its properties, if applied for non-typical product. The tests also show the usage of the unique and effective method of the vacuum loading. The research has been elaborated based on the requirements of DAKO Brno Ltd. Company.

This paper has briefly introduced the construction situation of centralized control station (CCS) of Xuchang Power Supply Company, the modes and components status of Information Centralized Control System (ICCS), and analyzed the its existing problems and shortage. This paper has mainly stated the equipment features and function properties of RC3000, and described construction components and superiorities of ICCS in detail. It is meaningful for the construction of power system fibre-optical communication engineering and CCS in reference.

This paper describes the segregation of fibres in high performance and high strength concretes. It focuses on both laboratory and practical conditions. It compares different mixtures produced and processed in the laboratory and in the precast concrete company. Two methods are chosen in the paper to avoid fibre segregation. The first method is a suitable mix design considering the water/cement ratio and the amount of superplasticizer. The second method is the addition of synthetic fibres to the mixture while maintaining sufficient workability. The paper examines the consistence of each mixture according to the concrete placement location, segregation of fibres in the fresh mixture and hardened composite. Both methods under laboratory and practical conditions have shown a positive impact on the reduction of segregation of steel fibres in the mixture. Simultaneously, the strength properties of all mixtures were compared, which depended mainly on the type of synthetic fibres used.

Abstract Although the deployment of carbon fibre structural components has enjoyed wide success on smaller aircraft, their acceptance on larger transport airframes is less sanguine – especially in the case of primary structure applications where the increasing out of plane loads found on the larger airframes have exposed the weak interlaminar properties of the layered material system. This has led to an overreliance on mechanical attachments to suppress these through thickness failures, which ultimately degrades structural performance and increases manufacturing costs. Until these resin dominated failure modes can be dealt with more effectively, without adversely affecting the in plane properties of the laminate, the true weight-savings potential afforded by carbon fibre material systems will be difficult to attain. This paper describes how researchers at NASA-LaRC and The Boeing Company are working to develop a next generation stitched composite design solution that addresses the fundamental challenges in achieving improved structural performance and reduced fabrication costs for large carbon fibre airframe structures.

Laser diagnostics techniques are widely used in experimental fluid mechanics. By far the most widely used systems for getting spatial velocity fields and turbulence data are laser Doppler anemometers (LDA). Further, in the cases of two-phase flows phase Doppler analysers (PDA) are typically chosen to measure the size and velocity of the droplets or bubbles. The PDA system is non-intrusive laser technique with high spatial and temporal resolution. Moreover, the PDA system does not require additional calibration as, for example, hot-wire anemometers. However, with a growing number of PDA users, there is a need for verification of the results among the workplaces and systems themselves. The current paper deals with the comparison of two fibre-based PDA systems. The main scope of the investigation is an evaluation of the system's age and the influence of lasers type. One of the systems is older, operated with Argon-Ion laser and the second one is brand new equipped with Diode-pumped solid-state lasers. Both have the same optics and were manufactured by the same company. Various properties of the PDA system are tested to show particular influence on the quality of results when measuring in a spray generated by a small air-blast atomizer.

After getting a lot of praise for being a sales champion, Perfect Diary's reputation went downhill because of a number of problems with the brand itself. On the other hand, there are not many articles that discuss how to improve this issue and construct a positive image for the business. This paper addressed this subject in more detail. Using an examination of marketing mix theory and a SWOT analysis, the purpose of this paper was to investigate how Perfect Diary creates a favorable image for its brand. According to the findings of the study, Perfect Diary's brand image will suffer if the company maintains its low-price approach for an extended period of time, does not pay attention to place expansion, and engages in excessive promotion. Nonetheless, consumers will be drawn to the brand due to the packaging and other characteristics of its products, which will have a beneficial effect on the brand's image. As a result, in order to create a favorable public perception of their brand, Perfect Diary needs to implement the four pillars of the marketing mix theory.

Introduction. The need for a more efficient and varied use of waste from the pulp and paper industry dictates the need to search for new directions for the use of such waste in construction materials science technologies.Materials and methods. In the studies the fibre waste of the Perm Cardboard LLC company with a moisture content after washing of 300% by weight was used. Currently, many issues of theory and practice the production of materials from the fibre waste are not entirely solved, resulting in a number of provisions borrowed from the theory of the production of concrete mineral aggregates, as well as the production of pulp and paper industry.Results. Due to its chemical and material composition, the possibility of using the fibre waste in construction materials science technologies as an independent air binder is shown. The studies have established that the initial moisture content of the fibre waste as a binder affects the final quality indicators of a dry material. Thus, the lowest dry material density of 350 kg/m3 is observed at the initial humidity of the mixture in the range of 650% by weight. At a density of 350 kg/m3, the hygroscopicity of the material is 4.3%, the shrinkage from 10 to 25%. The drying time of the product is within 11 hours. A leveling high shrinkage is achieved by introducing light aggregates with a rough surface during the molding process.Discussion and conclusions. The obtained data on the structure, the composition of the fibre waste, as well as the dependence and regularities of the behavior of a highly concentrated dispersed system of the ‘fibre waste-water’ type show the possibility of using the fibre waste for the production of thermal insulation materials, both as a main component and in a composition with aggregates as an independent air binder. At the same time, the final density indicators of thermal insulation products are within the limits established by regulatory documents.

Veneer plywood is established in building construction, interior finishing and vehicle construction. Particularly in automotive or ship interior applications, the requirements with regard to strength and stiffness properties are increasing. At the same time, the weight of the panel materials used is to be reduced. The development presented here is a new type of lightweight basalt fibre-reinforced poplar veneer plywood and at the same time rigid alternative to the established birch veneer plywood. By adapting the adhesive and the reinforcing semi-finished products, the material and manufacturing costs are comparatively low. The bonding of the fibre reinforcement to the carrier material is achieved by means of adapted wood adhesives (e.g. polyvinyl acetates), which are also used as matrix material for the fibre reinforcement. An application of the reinforcement layer is integrated into the coating process (e.g. with High Pressure Laminate HPL decorative fabrics) of the carrier material. Essential advantages compared to conventional board materials are shown in this paper. The research results were achieved at the Institute for Structural Lightweight Construction of the TU Chemnitz in cooperation with the company Toms Gerber GmbH within the ZiM cooperation project FuBa.

Purpose – This paper aims to relate how “good” human resources (HR) practice is characterized in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and what the drivers are for adopting this good practice. This paper explores methods for measuring the impact of HR practices that are helpful and realistic in the context of an SME. Design/methodology/approach – This paper studies practices at a family-owned bakery. The study takes the form of an action-research project using semi-structured interviews, participant observation on the factory floor and analysis of company documentation in the diagnosis phase. It reflects action interventions that have informed the findings, together with post-project semi-structured interviews with key actors three years after the completion of the project. Findings – Discovers that the drivers of good HR practice are size, market position, external “coercive networks”, presenting issues, the ideology of the managing director and the energy of an HR champion. Practical implications – Demonstrates that the impact of “good” HR practice can be best evaluated in SMEs through one-shot cost-based metrics or more strategic qualitative measures. Originality/value – Develops an original model to show the relationship between the drivers, the HR practices adopted and measurable outcomes. Makes an important contribution to the debate about HRM in SMEs and has practical value for informing the development of good HR practice in SMEs.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand how “good” HR practice is characterised in SMEs and what the drivers are for adopting this good practice. The paper also explores methods for measuring the impact of HR practice which are helpful and realistic in the context of an SME. Design/methodology/approach – The research was carried out in one SME, a bakery based in South Yorkshire. It was an action research project which utilised semi-structured interviews, participant observation on the factory floor and analysis of company documentation in the diagnosis phase. In addition, reflections on action interventions have informed the findings, together with post-project, semi-structured interviews with key actors three years after the completion of the project. Findings – The drivers of good HR practice were found to be size, market position, external “coercive networks”, presenting issues, the ideology of the managing director and the energy of an HR champion. The findings demonstrate that the impact of “good” HR practice can be best evaluated in SMEs through one-shot, cost-based metrics or more strategic qualitative measures. Originality/value – The paper develops an original model to show the relationship between the drivers, the HR practices adopted and measurable outcomes. This makes an important contribution to the debate about HRM within SMEs and it has practical value for informing the development of good HR practice in SMEs.

Background: The problem of difficult-to-recycle textile waste is an ongoing challenge. One of the issues is the lack of exchange between the recovery sector and design/manufacture of recycled materials. This paper seeks to addresses the gap in knowledge between sorting (in recovery) and blending activities (in manufacture), expanding current design strategies towards textile recovery. To achieve this, the research explores sorting practices of wool/acrylic blends in the mechanical wool recycling industry and applies this knowledge to the design of new yarns. Methods: A bricolage of methods was used to conduct this research in three parts. First, an overview of a previous study by Author1 is presented from which this research builds. Second, field research using conversation methods with the owner of a closed wool recycling company was conducted centring around their material archive. Thirdly, practice research was conducted in a spinning facility where Author1 applied knowledge from part 1 and 2 by designing four recycled yarns. This was supported by interviews with a sorter and recycler to expand on the findings. Results: Four methods of sorting and the sorting grades/thresholds that are found in the wool recycling industry are outlined, and five methods of recycled blending historically used in the wool recycling industry are established. This knowledge (sorting methods/grades and recycled blending techniques) were applied in practice and from the methods employed, the relationship between sorting in recovery and recycled blending in manufacture was established across three themes: fibre quality, fibre type and fibre colour. Conclusions: The paper concludes that understanding the link sorting and blending provides the foundations for a ‘Design for Sorting’ methodology. When lessons from each theme (quality, type and colour) are combined, this enables fibre value to be retained in recovery and thus, provides a route for longevity of our textile fibres.

The purpose of the paper is to review and evaluate selected tax burdens and reliefs between Slovakia and Ireland in relation to a specific type of globally successful innovative company introduced to scientific literature as “hidden champion” (HC) by Simon (1990). In the process of writing the work, the following methods of comparison, logical generalization, analysis, and synthesis were used. The results showed that both countries lack in providing specific regime in research and development (R&D), corporate income, and value-added tax (VAT) aspects to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (including HCs). Moreover, as reported by Ibec (2019), small companies face several challenges to their growth due to taxation. A parallel view on two countries (tax heaven and a classic approach country) provides a great prospect on all gaps in the taxation system. Although improvements are predicted and confirmed every second year, tax policy in the analyzed countries is not fully matched to current situations. The work reveals for the first time the fact that there are few specialized programs for SMEs, getting an exemption or applying for relief is difficult. In general, there is a lack of studies devoted to taxes within the concept of “hidden champions”. This paper contributes to this field from the perspective of policymaking, and it provides valuable insight for practice.

This paper aims at comparatively analyzing the IS process in three remarkable empirical cases. Ostrom’s Institutional Analysis and Development framework and its categories for analysis are used to understand each process. A theoretical and analytical framework is proposed based on a survey of contextual elements that shaped the behavior of organizations towards Industrial Symbiosis practices. The results show that although there was no clear, linear order in which the actors developed symbiotic relationships, the decisions related to Industrial Symbiosis are shaped by a similar set of variables. These variables range from technical and economic aspects, such as the diversity of industries and the viability of exchanges, to social and institutional aspects, encompassing critical environmental issues; bilateral agreements; collective engagement; trust to build cooperative relationships; communication and information sharing strategies; integrated regulatory framework at three levels; congruence between government and company actions to create a cooperative environment; and governance structures involving local government, companies, research and development institutions, and a coordinating entity or the champion. This framework may serve as a reference for diagnostic analyses assessing aspects that can be improved wherein Industrial Symbiosis is already underway. It may also be useful in prescriptive analyses assessing the potential for implementing IS.

Field experiment was conducted in Alfisol (red sandy loam) at Balalpur Industrial Packaging Company Limited (BIPCO) model farm, Mettupalayam, Tamil Nadu, to assess the impact of paper board mill sludge biocompost and treated paper board mill effluent irrigation on growth and yield of vegetable cowpea, (CO 2). Application of sludge biocompost by mixing sludge, fly ash, coir pith @ 2:1:1 ratio along with recommended level of NPK (20:20:60 kg NPK ha) under treated effluent irrigation produced the highest vegetable cowpea yield of 6500 kg ha¹ as against 5325 kg ha¹ in FYM+ 100% NPK. There were no adverse effect on soil physical and biochemical properties due to sludge biocompost application. The quality of the vegetable cowpea viz. protein and fibre content were not- affected due to sludge biocompost application along with effluent irrigation. The treated effluent which complics the state pollution control board norms can be used for raising vegetable cowpea along with sludge biocompost @ 6 t ha with out any adverse effect on soil and crop quality.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a theory of information security intelligence and examine the effects of managers’ information security intelligence (MISI) on employees’ procedural countermeasure awareness and information security policy (ISP) compliance intention. Design/methodology/approach A survey approach and structural equation modeling is utilized. Partial least squares (WarpPLS 6.0) and nonlinear algorithm are employed to analyze and examine the hypotheses. In total, 324 employees from companies in South Korea participated in the survey, which was conducted by a professional survey service company. Findings MISI positively affects employees’ awareness of information security procedural countermeasures; information security knowledge and problem-solving skills have positive effects on procedural countermeasures awareness; MISI increases employees’ compliance intention through procedural countermeasure awareness; and information security procedural countermeasures positively affect employees’ ISP compliance intention. Research limitations/implications This study proposes a theory of information security intelligence and examines its impacts on employees’ compliance intentions. The study highlights the mediating role of information security procedural countermeasures between information security intelligence and employees’ compliance intentions. Practical implications Managers should improve and explicitly demonstrate information security knowledge and problem-solving skills to increase employees’ ISP compliance intention. To protect the organization’s intellectual capital, managers should champion the development and promotion of PCM, rather than leave these functions to the information security group. Originality/value This is the first empirical study to propose and validate MISI.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how to build and maintain an active network of innovators inside a large organization. Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes the process used by a senior manager at a large pharmaceutical company in France to create a flexible structure that would enable innovators and seekers of innovation to connect and move interesting and promising ideas toward implementation. Findings – One of the authors describes his approach, which included inviting graduates of a program in innovation management to design the structure of the network. He has successfully conducted about 30 problem-centered network sessions, based upon the process taught in the Managing Innovation program (a copyrighted program of Barnes & Conti Associates Inc. and David Francis, PhD) These sessions have successfully moved a number of practical and creative ideas forward. Research limitations/implications – The authors believe that this type of innovation network could be replicated successfully in other large organizations. The process, however, requires a senior manager who is a very involved and invested sponsor/champion. Practical implications – Problems that require innovative solutions can be brought to a diverse group of innovators who are interested in working on it. The format involves multiple, rapid prototyping, and saves considerable time and money while providing practical and vetted solutions or inventions. Social implications – An innovation network provides an outlet for members to use their creative imagination to address a wide variety of problems. In this way, they can continue to build their own skills while contributing value to their organizations. Originality/value – Leaders always hope to maximize the value of their investment in training and development. Creating a format that takes advantage of and continues to build skills in areas such as innovation management optimizes an organization's ROI in leadership development while providing a valuable service to the organization.

Purpose This paper aims to explore the use of an appeal, belonging and commitment social marketing intervention to rescue a failing corporate “charity of the year” exercise that involved a mental disability charity. It describes the improvements experienced consequent to the introduction of volunteer “charity ambassadors” (CAs) appointed to champion the charity’s cause. Design/methodology/approach The study revolved around company employees’ responses to an open-ended question concerning their attitudes towards people with mental disabilities. A semi-automated qualitative research technique (structural topic modelling [STM]) was used to analyse the replies both pre- and post-intervention. Regression analyses were undertaken to explain whether employees’ replies to the question fell in specific categories. Findings The intervention was successful. Employees’ attitudes regarding mentally impaired people shifted substantially away from fear and towards feelings of benevolence and compassion. Employees’ financial donations to the charity increased significantly consequent to the intervention. Levels of benevolence and compassion depended significantly on participants’ prior exposure to people with mental disabilities, gender and degree of involvement in activities associated with the intervention. Research limitations/implications Stakeholders other than employees were not sampled. Open-ended responses to a single question can oversimplify complex issues. Practical implications Outcomes to the research demonstrate how CAs can induce positive attitudes and behaviour towards an “unpopular cause”. Originality/value The results highlight some of the problems attached to corporate sponsorship of unpopular causes. A relatively recently developed open-ended qualitative research technique, STM, was used to examine employees’ attitudes. Classifications of findings emerged from the data and did not depend on a predetermined coding scheme.

Currently, the world is getting more poisonous due to the toxic contaminated and wastewater release from the industries activities. The designers should analyse the effect to the environmental and human health, prior starting any manufacturing and fabricating process. This technique able to optimize the company profit and reduced unnecessary cost by predict any consequences and do correction step before the problem emerge for every action taken. Therefore, this paper aim to provide the evidence that the selection of material and manufacturing process used to fabricate ACB has minimum impact on the environment and human health. A few methods can be used to calculate the environmental damage assessment such as network, compare and uncertainty analysis. In this study, analyse calculation method selected to predict the environmental impact. The results for the damage to human health analysis only contribute 0.0125 DALY, analysis results for the hazardous elements such as methane, trichlorofluoromethane and Chlorofluorocarbons produced during the fabrication process only 1.32 x 10-9 DALY. Besides, the major damage elements to ecosystem quality results only contribute 1.97 x 10-4 species.yr. Therefore, the remarkable results show that the process and material selection to fabricate ACB are very low which was below than 0.1 DALY. Moreover, damage assessment for the terrestrial ecotoxicity of pulforming process using oil palm natural/glass fibre reinforced polyurethane composite only contributed 1.13 × 10−10 (species.year). Consequently, the process could not damage the human health and indicates that the process is environmentally friendly and safe for the ecosystem.

Работа посвящена численному моделированию системы трубчатых электронагревателей (ТЭНов), внедренных в стальную плиту (пресс), которая покоится на слое инородного материала - дерева или древесноволокнистой плиты МДФ. Целью расчетов является определение количества и мощности ТЭНов, обеспечивающих заданный прогрев пресса. Средняя температура на поверхности соприкосновения стали с МДФ задана, а перепад температур в различных точках этой поверхности не превышает определенного значения, диктуемого особенностями обрабатываемого материала. Результаты расчета внедрены на производстве. The paper is devoted to numerical simulation of a system of turbular electric heating elements that are embedded in a steel plate (a press) basing on a slice of some other material, i.e. wood or MDF. Calculation purpose is to find the number and the power of heating elements that guarantee preselected heating regime of the press. In more detail, average temperature on the contact surface of the press and MDF is given, and temperature drop on this surface must not exceed some value determined by the properties of material under treatment. The simulation results are adopted by a certain company producing wood-fibre boards.

Purpose – This paper, a “Q&A interview” conducted by Joanne Pransky of Industrial Robot Journal, aims to impart the combined technological, business and personal experience of a prominent, robotic industry engineer-turned entrepreneur regarding the evolution, commercialization and challenges of bringing a technological invention to market. Design/methodology/approach – The interviewee is Dr Esben H. Ostergaard, inventor, co-founder and chief technology officer of Universal Robots. From building his first robot to solve a local industrial problem at the age of four, to building the world’s first collaborative robot company, Dr Ostergaard shares his lifelong ventures as a robot scientist, inventor and entrepreneur. Findings – Dr Ostergaard received degrees in computer science, physics and multimedia at Aarhus University in Denmark, and a PhD in robotics from the University of Southern Denmark. While at Aarhus, Dr Ostergaard pursued his hobby of robot football, and in 1998, his team STATIC became the world champion of the Federation of International Robot-soccer Association (FIRA). Dr Ostergaard held research positions at the University of Southern California (USC) Robotics Labs and at the Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Tsukuba/Tokyo. During the years 2001-2005 as a researcher and assistant professor in robotics and user interfaces at University of Southern Denmark, he created the foundation for a reinvention of the industrial robot. This led him to found Universal Robots in 2005 with two of his research colleagues. Originality/value – From a young child who played with LEGOs until he got a Commodore 64, Dr Ostergaard has always been interested in robotics. His unique multidisciplinary education and multicultural research experiences helped him to pioneer a new multi-axis, lightweight industrial robot and launch the successful company, Universal Robots, which has grown from its three co-founders to nearly 150 employees, with more than 4,000 collaborative robot applications installed in over 50 countries worldwide. Dr Ostergaard has over 30 patents and has received many awards, including the 2012 IEEE-IFR Invention and Entrepreneurship Award (IERA), the 2013 Japanese Institute Good Design Award, the 2013 Robotics Business Review Game Changer Award and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2012 in Region Funen.

Modern flax mills are equipped with new production lines for short and long fibres. In particular, the Belgian company Depoortere supplies such lines of various capacities. The equipment allows for continuous processing of flax, complete cleaning of flax seeds. Standard sorting tables are used for sorting flax (manually by length and colour). At the same time, back in the 1980s, based on the modernisation of standard sorting tables, original designs of experimental sorting tables equipped with aspiration devices were created and tested in production conditions. In this paper, an experimental conveyor table with a perforated surface is considered, equipped with a device for removing air contaminated with dust particles. An experimental table with a two-sided arrangement of workplaces with the function of localisation and removal of dust in the process of sorting long flax fibre is presented. The results of testing of experimental tables at Palekh flax plant, comments and suggestions from the employees of the flax plant regarding the design of the tables are presented. The designs of experimental tables equipped with aspiration devices, have significant advantages in comparison with standard tables, can be adapted to modern lines installed at flax plants.

The article provides an overview of trade fairs for breeding cows at the international and regional levels in a historical context. The purpose of such exhibitions is an exchange of practical experience in breeding cattle of various breeds, promotion of selection achievements of the best farm businesses, identification of champion cows based on comprehensive assessment. An animal exhibition is also a show consisting of various entertainments, contests, including events for children. This is a place for spending time with one’s family, for communication, having meals, buying souvenirs, etc. The paper offers a description of the summarized experience accumulated and acquired at international cow exhibitions in foreign countries. Using “The Royal” exhibition as an example (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), an insight is provided into certain features of preparing cows for exhibition or subtle details of cow styling. It has become customary in Ukraine to hold Agroindustrial Exhibition in early June on the premises of the Expocentre of Ukraine, National Complex in Kyiv. One of the major events of this exhibition is the Animal EX display – demonstration and auction of breeding animals. CHAIKA State-Owned Company (Boryspil District, Kyiv Region) is a permanent participant in cow exhibitions. The article provides an analysis of milk productivity of show cows during higher lactation (both in the first 305 days of lactation and in the entire lactation period), including per generation, within a decade (2011-2019). In that period show animals also withdrew from the herd, so their lifetime production and breeding capacity were also assessed. It is concluded that cattle exhibitions are one of the main tools for selection and pedigree breeding. Such events are necessary for the successful development of dairy cattle breeding, for exchange of experience, development of new methods of selection, animal management and feeding technologies, an extension of the information field in that sphere.

This paper examines a neglected facet of the life of the poet and colonial agent James Macpherson (1736–1796). Better known today as the ‘translator’ of Ossian, James Macpherson was also a political writer and MP who enjoyed a long association with the East India Company (EIC). In the 1780s, James returned to his native Badenoch, bought an estate, and played a decisive role in the reconfiguration of the area through military recruitments, land arbitration and new strategies of landownership and improvements. Studying James Macpherson's relation to land and kinship reveals a more complex and ambivalent man than previously acknowledged in existing literature. Drawing from official and private records, as well as Gaelic material, this paper uncovers the extent to which his reestablishment was the product of his imperial activities, as was visible in the reinjection of external capital in land. James's political connections in London were instrumental in assisting Duncan Macpherson (later of Cluny), son of the exiled Macpherson clan chief, in recovering the forfeited estates. Enjoying popularity with his tenants, James was reluctant to impose purely commercial improvements: his considerable East Indian profits provided him with financial emancipation from unpredictable land revenues and the ability to preserve his image of a paternalist landowner locally. However, this paper also engages with James Macpherson's ideology and recreation of a mythical past serving his own interests. Offering valuable help to the entrepreneurial Macpherson gentry also involved in India and America, James took a decisive role in offering advise and support to large-scale improvement projects. His adoption of a lavish lifestyle and conscious use of entertainment, made possible by the influx of colonial wealth, enabled him to challenge the old social order, juxtapose himself with the Cluny Macpherson and recreate a post-clanship culture serving the interests of the colonial gentry. The controversial perception of James Macpherson, whose role oscillated between that of nouveau riche and ‘clan champion’, sheds a new light on the impact of the British Empire on Badenoch, and the Highlands at large. A closer look at his reestablishment in Badenoch, a county traditionally seen by historians as an example of effective management without mass depopulation, provides new perspectives on the intersection of late-eighteenth century empire, improvement, and clanship.

Driven by issues of economics, productivity, biodiversity and climate change, mixedwood management is becoming increasingly attractive. For silviculture to embrace and capitalize on natural stand dynamics, complex processes and interactions must be understood. To facilitate focused, applied research, ten Alberta forest companies have joined forces to cooperatively advance the science and management of boreal aspen/white spruce mixedwood forests. Members of the Mixedwood Management Association have committed collective research funds to develop and test practices that will sustain fibre supply, biodiversity, social and ecological values in Alberta's mixedwood forests. Forest industry members include Ainsworth Engineered Canada LP., Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc., Canadian Forest Products Ltd., Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd., Footner Forest Products Ltd., Millar Western Forest Products Ltd., Tolko Industries Ltd., Slave Lake Pulp/Alberta Plywood Ltd., Vanderwell Contractors (1971) Ltd. and Weyerhaeuser Company Ltd. The Alberta government and the University of Alberta are supporting partners in the Association. The Association's goals are to increase knowledge of aspen/white spruce mixed forests in the areas of growth and yield, crop planning, monitoring, understory protection and decision support tools. This paper highlights some of the Association-sponsored research projects. Key words: Alberta, Mixedwood Management Association, research, growth and yield, crop plans

IntroductionHeavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers exhibit higher than nationally representative rates of obesity, and obesity-related comorbidities, in comparison to other occupational groups. Their working environments are not conducive to a healthy lifestyle, yet there has been limited attention to health promotion efforts. We have developed a Structured Health Intervention For Truckers (the SHIFT programme), a multicomponent, theory-driven, health-behaviour intervention targeting physical activity, diet and sitting in HGV drivers. This paper describes the protocol of a cluster randomised controlled trial designed to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the SHIFT programme.Methods and analysisHGV drivers will be recruited from a logistics company in the UK. Following baseline measurements, depots (clusters) will be randomised to either the SHIFT intervention or usual-care control arm (12 clusters in each, average cluster size 14 drivers). The 6-month SHIFT intervention includes a group-based interactive 6-hour education session, worksite champion support and equipment provision (including a Fitbit and resistance bands/balls to facilitate a ‘cab workout’). Objectively measured total daily physical activity (steps/day) will be the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes include: objectively measured light-intensity physical activity and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, sitting time, sleep quality, markers of adiposity, blood pressure and capillary blood markers (glycated haemoglobin, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol). Self-report questionnaires will examine fruit and vegetable intake, psychosocial and work outcomes and mental health. Quality of life and resources used (eg, general practitioner visits) will also be assessed. Measures will be collected at baseline, 6 and 12 months and analysed according to a modified intention-to-treat principle. A full process evaluation and cost-effectiveness analysis will be conducted.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval was obtained from the Loughborough University Ethics Approvals Sub-Committee (reference: R17-P063). Study findings will be disseminated through publications in research and professional journals, through conference presentations and to relevant regional and national stakeholders via online media and at dissemination events.Trial registration numberNCT10483894.

Increasing levels of global forest denudation have led to increased global warming due to rising levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This is further exacerbated by the need for poles for power distribution among other uses. A need, therefore, exists to venture into alternative poles that are environmentally friendly and address the effects of deforestation. The paper addresses this emerging issue by suggesting the adoption of composite poles for power distribution in Kenya. Composite poles are those whose outer materials are ultraviolet stabilized, recyclable, and resistant to corrosion and attacks such as from insects and rodents. The outer material also has minimum water porosity. The inner material, on the other hand, is made of both fiber and Polyurethane material. The fibres are organic and can be of industrial or biological materials such as fiberglass, carbon fibre, or plant fibre, among others. This paper analyses the composition, available technologies, socio-economic benefits as well as risks to be mitigated by the adoption of composite poles in Kenya. Analysis of the total cost per pole installed for various pole types was done. Data collection methods involved interviewing Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) staff, the observation made at the Limuru factory, and the use of existing documentation by KPLC and the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS). The paper reviewed studies done by KPLC and standards developed thereof by KEBS. Further key attributes of various pole technologies were compared and a comparison of composite poles with wood and concrete poles was carried out. In addition, the technical features of poles were compared. Data collected was analysed and the results were presented in tabular forms. The cost analyses of the various poles and a summary of the failure of wooden poles in various regions throughout Kenya were also covered. The study has demonstrated based on a life-term analysis, that composite poles would save up to 40% of the total costs incurred for projects that are replacing wooden and concrete poles over 80 years. This translates to about KES 51, 868, 363 per composite lifetime or about KES 648, 354 per year (USD 5,533.60 /a) in addition to the added benefits of easier and quicker installations, low operation costs, and longevity. Further still, Composites poles would significantly impact the amount of money charged to connect new clients to the Grid electricity. The study concludes by indicating that a need exists for further analysis of the cost elements using Net Present Value (NPV) approaches.

Priolo Associated Biological Plant, designed and constructed for the treatment of 1200 1/s ± 20% (about 4300 m3/h) of industrial and domestic wastewaters, occupies a site of about 40 000 m2 near Siracusa (Italy), It is very important in the Siracusa Industrial Area where, within the space of about 20 years, uncontrolled industrialization occurred. The main users of the plant are the big petrochemical factories of the area (Montedison, Enichem, and Exxon) and small towns such as Melilli, Priolo, and Belvedere. The wastewaters are transported to the plant via a glass fibre reinforced plastic (GRP) pipe 40 km long, laid in a north-south direction. The treated effluent is discharged into the sea through a submerged outfall 1600 m long and 35 m deep. The plant is provided with large waterproof basins (75 000 and 25 000 m3) were toxic and harmful wastes can be held. Plant management is carried out by IAS SpA (Siracusa Water Industry), a company which is both public and private. This paper gives some data on the characteristics of the treated wastewater, tests performed, process efficiency, type of management, and running costs. The results of research conducted using a pilot plant are briefly discussed. From May 1987, this research has enabled the biological plant to treat about 14 tons per hour of untreated sulphuric soda effluent sent directly from a petrochemical plant. The constant research activities implemented by the management have given the users of the plant the opportunity of reducing their highly expensive pretreatments to a minimum.

On-line testing of high power electromagnetic devices is one of the most important problems of modern industrial metrology. In the paper, the results of experimental investigations of the electric field optical fiber sensor based on the electroluminescent phenomena are presented. The electro¬luminescent effect is observed in some composite semicon¬ductors, among others in zinc sulfide ZnS crystals. In our investigations, the used ZnS crystal was doped with copper Cu atoms as activators. The concentration of activator in the ZnS crystal was about 5.10-4 [g/g]. According to plans of investi¬gations of the elaborated electroluminescent sensor, the spectral properties as well as the intensity of light emission in sinusoidal alternating electric field were tested.Full Text: PDF References:K.T.V. Grattan, Fiber Optic Fluorescence Thermometry, Chapman and Hall, London, 1996 [CrossRef]K. Kyuma, S. Tai, T. Sawada, "Fiber-optic instrument for temperature measurement", J. Quntum. Electronics, 73(3), 1997 [CrossRef]A. Brief, J. Chem. Educ., 88(6), 731 (2011). [CrossRef]T. Pustelny, B. Pustelny, "Investigation of electroluminophores for their practical application in optical fibre sensor technology", Opto-Electronics Rev.,10(3), 193 (2002). [CrossRef]A.Wrzesinska, Photo- and electroluminophore, Wroclaw, PWN Press, 1988, (in polish) [DirectLink]K.A. Franz, W.G. Kehr, "Luminescent Materials", Ullmans Encyclopedie of Industral Chemistry, Wiley-VCH, Veinhen, 2008 [CrossRef]A.G. Milnes, Deep Impurities In Semiconductors, A Willey-Interscience Publication, Toronto, 1993 [DirectLink]M. Aven, J.S. Prener, Physics and Chemistry of II-VI Compounds, North-Holland Publishing Company - Amsterdam, 1993 [DirectLink]P.K. Cheo, Fiber Optics Devices and Systems, Prentice-Hall, 1985 [CrossRef]D. Randall, Fluorescence and Phosphorescence, Grown, Oxford, 2007. [CrossRef]M. Koen, Photoconductivity of Semiconductors, Edited by Parks, New York, 1996 [CrossRef]K.R. Murphy, C.A. Stedmon, Annal. Methods, 6(3), 658, (2014) [CrossRef]T. Pustelny, K. Barczak, K. Gut, J. Wojcik, "Special optical fiber type D applied in optical sensor of electric currents", Optica Applicata, 34(4), 531 (2004). [DirectLink]K. Barczak, T. Pustelny, D. Dorosz, J. Dorosz, "Polarization maintaining fibers for application in magnetic field measurements", Europ. Phys. Journal: S.T., 154, 11, (2008) [CrossRef]

The relentless pressures of competition stemming from globalization, technological changes, etc., today are increasingly buffeting organizations. One of the pathways for companies to weather these storms is through unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit latent in its employees enabling these employees to carve out new paths, initiate new ventures, defy the status quo in their organizations, and break fresh ground. There is an increasing body of knowledge relating to unleashing entrepreneurial energies in large organizations referred to as corporate entrepreneurship or intrapreneurship. Intrapreneurship is a major driver for organizational renewal or reinvention. This article seeks to understand the intrapreneurial mindset as opposed to the employee mindset. It is inextricably connected with leadership since it involves mobilizing teams of people towards a cause much greater than the individuals involved, often in the face of significant resistance from status quo preserving forces within and outside the organization. Intrapreneurship at any level (individual, group or organization) fundamentally involves taking ownership, i.e., operating with an entrepreneurial mindset. In the corporate context, since the person leading the reinvention is not an autonomous entrepreneur, he/she is more appropriately referred to as an intrapreneur. It is very unlikely that reinvention at any level can occur without this basic transformation of perspective from employee to psychological owner or intrapreneur. Intrapreneuring is not a path that is chosen by the vast majority of people in any profession since this path involves a lot more of the person than would be the case for a person operating with an ‘employee mindset.’ However, the reason it is important is that it is challenging, fulfilling, personally and professionally rewarding, and is urgently required by corporations—both big and small—the world over to thrive meaningfully in todays uncertain times. While the context in which this manifestation of entrepreneurial behaviour is enacted may vary (government, public sector, private sector, NGO, etc.), the fundamental fibre of the person who chooses this path is essentially similar. This article presents three interesting case studies from Tata Steel, a company that has sought to create an entrepreneurial climate in the organization over the last several years. Two of these relate to crashing project time and cost lines to create international records in the face of international technical collaborators affirming that this would not be possible in India. The third intrapreneurial episode relates to turning around a run-down manufacturing facility in the company to produce spectacular results. In the process, the authors have: drawn generic lessons from each of these case studies presented the results of interviews with 30 practising managers on the facilitators and inhibitors for creating an intrapreneurial climate in large organizations highlighted the perspectives of a few senior managers from the Indian IT industry on this very important source of innovation in large organizations tied together the three intrapreneurial episodes presented in this paper by attempting to understand the commonalities among the intrapreneurs. This article would be beneficial to Indian companies seeking to create an entrepreneurial climate and to professionals in these companies to motivate them to look at their work lives differently and to enable them to redefine their roles in their organizations.

Abstract In this paper, the biomass graphene fibre industrialisation project is taken as the research object. Moreover, the development characteristics of the project in the field of industrial application and the financial status of the current company are taken into comprehensive consideration. The financial data from 2014 to 2018 are selected for quantitative analysis. First of all, this paper specifically divides the risk into four dimensions, depending upon the project’s financial status, which involves financing risk, investment risk, business risk, and other risks These are analyzed and studied from the internal and external causes of enterprise risk. Secondly, by comparing various research methods, the author chooses the TOPSIS entropy weight method suitable for H Company to analyse its data in the past 5 years and identifies the main risk points faced by enterprises in the industry according to entropy weight. The results show that the risk index for each year is: 2017>2021>2019>2020>2018. In early 2017, the average financial status of all companies in the development of the whole project industry was at the bottom point, but in 2015, there was a huge improvement in the financial situation, and in 2019, it stabilised after the decline of the average safety index. At the same time, the average total assets of each company in the biomass graphene fibre industrialisation project showed an increasing trend from 2017 to 2021, with the most significant increase in 2019 (514.135 million yuan), an increase of 119.14% compared to 2018. Thirdly, the average value of debt also reached the highest in 2019, with the value of debt reaching 383.248 million yuan, an increase of 427.54% compared to 2018. The risk assessment system proposed in this paper provides good guidance for the risk assessment of biomass graphene fibre industrialisation projects.

ABSTRACTThe paper presents the brief information on particular results of experimental studies dealing with the problems of properties of materials based on fibre-cement and fibre-concrete composites, which are being recently developed, tested and verified, to use them in the plated components of load-carrying structures of building constructions. The problems mentioned are solved in the co-operation with the company of the Research Institute of Building Materials Inc. (“VUSTAH a.s.”) at Brno city in the Czech Republic. The attention is paid to two basic types of material: (i) fibre-cement composite used for the slab components intended for vertical or horizontal building or technology structures, such as permanent shuttering of bridges, timber floor structures and slab flooring, the wall cladding of buildings and formwork of components in manufacturing plants of the concrete units; (ii) glass-fibre-concrete composite mainly intended for the building façade claddings, but also for the objects of daily use. The experimental verification has been mainly oriented to the investigation of physical-mechanical properties, like as the tensile-bending strength, as well as the corresponding modulus of elasticity.

AbstractUsing Giddens (1984) structuration theory (ST), in this paper we illustrate how the efficiency‐driven approaches adopted by a large stated‐owned public company in Latin America (Latin American Multiutility Conglomerate [LAMC]) implicitly resulted in triggering a dam disaster with far‐reaching socio‐economic, environmental, and human consequences. Data for the study were derived through document analysis and conducting unstructured, semi‐structured, and email interviews. Our findings show that the internalization of efficiency as a corporate value at LAMC was further rationalized through the adoption of new public management (NPM)‐based management accounting practices (MAPs) embedded within the market‐led development approach. These MAPs connected agencies and structures in a dialectic way and continued reproducing efficiency through day‐to‐day operations and by enabling the company to champion itself as a successful NPM adopter. However, throughout this process, the socio‐environmental and human costs relating to “the dam project” were overlooked, making the disaster inevitable. The paper questions the market‐led development approach, and NPM‐based MAPs, and calls for further empirical work delineating how MAPs can be implicated in public value creation and promoting publicness in emerging economies. Such work is of paramount importance not only to prevent the “unexpected and unwanted effects of public sector accounting” under NPM and market‐led development but also to save the lives and livelihoods of poor and vulnerable community members in emerging economies.

PurposeThe paper aims to identify the effective constructability methods and tools that should be applied during the early project design stages to prevent specific constructability failures regarding project context.Design/methodology/approachSeventeen basic constructability problems were defined, 12 constructability implementation methods for investigation were selected, and a general tool representing potential causal connections between the problems and the methods that could prevent them was developed. A comparative case study was conducted through a rigorous investigation of the construction documentation of four major building construction projects. Nearly four hundred constructability problems were identified. The tool developed was used to draw conclusions about the preferred constructability methods, in general, and with respect to specific project contexts.FindingsThe managerial approach offers the best methods for preventing constructability problems. The major methods that emerged were (1) assigning a constructability champion, (2) facilitating the involvement of the general contractor early in the design process, and (3) augmenting design quality control. At the other end of the scale, methods such as company procedures and owner involvement were found to be the least effective.Originality/valueThe paper offers the ability to relate constructability problems to preventive mechanisms and to identify the appropriate steps to be taken to resolve these problems. The mechanism described here can be used by construction companies that keep failure data within accounting files to check projects in retrospect and draw lessons from them to be implemented in future projects.

In the autumn of 2016, TE Connectivity (TE), a global engineering business to business (B2B) leader in connectivity and sensor solutions, launched its first social media influencer campaign to increase brand awareness, change perceptions and grow the contact database. The influencer campaign was launched in conjunction with its sponsorship of the Andretti Formula E team, and was paired with an incentive — a sweepstake to win a trip to Andretti Autosport to see the engineering behind motorsports and an exclusive lunch with Michael Andretti, team owner and former champion race car driver. YouTuber Jason Fenske, creator of the channel Engineering Explained, flew to the United Kingdom to learn and film three videos about TE’s involvement in Formula E, the first all-electric international street car race series, and its parallels to the increasing consumer electric vehicle trend. With over 100 TE products in a Formula E car and a major player in the automotive industry, the racetrack-to-the-road thematic videos were concepted and produced to attract engineers from diverse industries and across the business spectrum. The success of Engineering Explained led to influencer programmes with TE’s sponsorship of rLoop, a crowdsourced team of engineers participating in Elon Musk’s SpaceX Hyperloop Competition. Leading up to and during the first competition, TE produced a five-part documentary chronicling the formation of the team, the technology and the excitement of the challenge to create the fifth mode of transport, which was amplified to an engineering audience through a multi-influencer distribution strategy. During the second competition, a YouTube influencer, Linus Tech Tips, travelled to California to film a 20-minute Facebook Live segment the night before the competition to capture the tension, nerves and excitement as the rLoop team put the finishing touches on their prototype, and produced a post-competition YouTube video on the technology of the Hyperloop. This paper comprises a practitioner’s insights into and lessons learned from activating B2B influencer programmes.

This article reflectively applies measurement tools to gage whether a renowned financier and champion of shareholder capitalism, in 20th century business history, might be categorized as a corporate psychopath. The article examines aspects of the career of the outstanding financial investment manager, Bernie Madoff. Psychopaths and corporate psychopaths are defined as background to the article. Gauges of corporate psychopathy and psychopathy are outlined which could be modified by market research companies to identify corporate psychopathy in organisations as a way of aiding investment decisions into such organisations. The current article concludes that insolvencies such as those at Madoff’s investment company, have been distinguished by CEOs being present who were simultaneously the lauded agents of financial market capitalism and who embodied the traits of the corporate psychopath. The examination of potential corporate psychopaths using this historical methodology helps inform ideas about what the effects of psychopathic leadership may be within economies and gives new insights into the reasons for the greed, risk taking, and unethical practices found in financial markets. Findings support the accepted view that corporate psychopaths can be discovered in senior roles in the financial services sector. This current paper provides new avenues for research offerings from market research companies. For example, business to business researchers could undertake research to identify firms more likely to be longitudinally viable, sustainable and less likely to collapse (i.e., non-psychopathic firms). Investment companies like pension funds could use such research to identify firms that are less risky, more ethical, better led, and therefore safer to invest in.

PurposeThis paper examines the role of a sustainability business model in clarifying a firm's sustainability value articulation (SVA) to achieve sustainability outcomes and examining the moderating role of supplier involvement practices SIP and technology systems integration (TSI) in attaining sustainability outcomes.Design/methodology/approachDrawing upon the foundational principles of business model innovation, specifically articulation and implementation, the authors formulated a theoretical construct and empirically validate it through analysis of data collected from 692 manufacturing firms dispersed across 23 countries.FindingsThe research shows that focusing on SVA significantly improves how a company implements sustainability efforts internally (ISI) and externally (ESI), leading to better social and environmental outcomes. It also highlights that SIP improve the relationship between SVA, ESI and ISI. Similarly, TSI boosts the effect of internal and external sustainability efforts on both social (SOP) and environmental performance (EnP).Research limitations/implicationsWhile acknowledging the inherent constraints of survey-based research methodologies, this study offers a theoretical and verified approach for manufacturers to achieve comprehensive sustainability. It emphasizes the need for clear, actionable sustainability goals that can be met through both internal operations and external partnerships.Practical implicationsThis study clarifies how manufacturers can implement sustainable business models, emphasizing the importance of clear sustainability goals and initiatives both within and outside the company. It highlights the dual aspects of supplier engagement through operational tactics (ESI) and strategic collaborations (SIP).Social implicationsThis study reveals a thrilling truth: when companies champion clear sustainability goals, they unlock powerful strategies that revolutionize practices within their walls and in their external dealings. It is not just about going green; it is about weaving financial prosperity, social responsibility and environmental stewardship into the very fabric of their business models. But there is more – by cleverly engaging suppliers and harnessing cutting-edge technology, companies are not just participants in the green revolution; they are leading it, crafting a world where business thrives alongside the planet and its people.Originality/valueThis research stands out for its empirical analysis of how manufacturing firms implement sustainability innovations at the plant level, an area previously underexplored despite extensive theoretical work on sustainability-centric business models.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the adoption or rejection of management accounting innovations (MAIs) in the specific context of small and medium entreprises (SMEs) through a constructivist approach of the theory of the diffusion of innovations. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a case study approach during the rollout of two MAIs run by the company’s management controller. One of them was adopted, and the other was rejected. To understand the perception of different actors in the company, the authors carried out 28 semistructured interviews at different periods of time: when the management controller started his job, when he/she was introduced to the two MAIs and at the decision-making to adopt or reject the innovations. The approach of Rogers’ framework is here constructivist. The case study allows us to analyze qualitatively the intrinsic perceived attributes of the innovations as well as the organizational innovativeness and to put them into context. Findings MAIs are not merely technical innovations but social practices. The relative advantage is necessary but not sufficient for their adoption. This paper also demonstrates the importance of the champion in the specific context of SMEs. This key player in the promotion and adoption of MAIs in SMEs has to be endorsed by the leader of the organization to ensure the innovation’s adoption. In addition, Rogers’ framework underlines that the predominant factor is complexity as both an endogenous and a heterogeneous element, underscoring the information and training that the project’s promoter should organize for the staff. Research limitations/implications The main limit is due to the methodological approach (case study): Would these factors be as significant in a completely different sector to management accounting or in another type of enterprise? Practical implications The analytical grid combines different organizational and individual factors described by Rogers and provides us with a predictive approach to the innovation’s chances of adoption and the risk of rejection. Social implications Complexity, both as an innovation attribute perceived by individuals and as an internal characteristic of the organization, is a decisive factor in the rejection or adoption decision. Originality/value This paper answers to two main research gaps. Most of papers analyze the introduction of one unique innovation in different entities. Here, the authors focus on one entity with two different innovations. In addition, most of papers were retrospective. In this paper, thanks to the case study, the introduction and the process of adoption of two innovations were studied at the time it happened and not after the events had occurred. Moreover, while most papers using Roger’s framework are quantitative, the authors pay attention to the meaning of the different characteristics at different stages and in the specific context of one SME with a constructivist qualitative approach.

This paper investigates the influences of woven fabric type, impact locations and number of layers on ballistic impact performances of target panels through trauma dimension and panel surface damage mechanisms for lightweight women ballistic vest design. Three panels with 30, 35 and 40 layers of two-dimensional plain weave and another two panels with 30 and 40 layers of three-dimensional warp interlock fabrics were prepared. The three-dimensional woven fabric was manufactured using automatic Dornier weaving machine, whereas the two-dimensional fabric (with similar p-aramid fibre type (Twaron®)) was received from the Teijin Company. The ballistic tests were carried out according to NIJ Standard-0101.06 Level IIIA. Based on the result, woven fabric construction type, number of layers and target locations were directed an upshot on the trauma measurement values of the tested target panels. For example, 40 layers of two-dimensional plain weave fabric panels show lower trauma measurement values as compared to its counterpart three-dimensional warp interlock fabric panels with similar layer number. Moreover, 40 layers of two-dimensional fabric panels revealed 47% and 39% trauma depth reduction as compared to panels with 30 layers of two-dimensional fabric panel in moulded (target point 1) and non-moulded (target point 6), respectively. Due to higher amount of primary yarn involvement, two-dimensional plain weave fabric panel face higher level of local surface damages but less severe and fibrillated yarns than three-dimensional warp interlock fabrics panels. Moreover, three-dimensional warp interlock fabric panels required higher number of layers compared to two-dimensional plain weave aramid fabrics to halt the projectiles. Similarly, based on the post-mortem analysis of projectile, higher projectile debris deformation was recorded for panels having higher number of layers for both types of fabrics at similar target locations.

IntroductionIn the year 2000, a group of likeminded individuals got together and convened the first annual World Barista Championship in Monte Carlo. With twelve competitors from around the globe, each competitor was judged by seven judges: one head judge who oversaw the process, two technical judges who assessed technical skills, and four sensory judges who evaluated the taste and appearance of the espresso drinks. Competitors had fifteen minutes to serve four espresso coffees, four cappuccino coffees, and four “signature” drinks that they had devised using one shot of espresso and other ingredients of their choice, but no alcohol. The competitors were also assessed on their overall barista skills, their creativity, and their ability to perform under pressure and impress the judges with their knowledge of coffee. This competition has grown to the extent that eleven years later, in 2011, 54 countries held national barista championships with the winner from each country competing for the highly coveted position of World Barista Champion. That year, Alejandro Mendez from El Salvador became the first world champion from a coffee producing nation. Champion baristas are more likely to come from coffee consuming countries than they are from coffee producing countries as countries that produce coffee seldom have a culture of espresso coffee consumption. While Ireland is not a coffee-producing nation, the Irish are the highest per capita consumers of tea in the world (Mac Con Iomaire, “Ireland”). Despite this, in 2008, Stephen Morrissey from Ireland overcame 50 other national champions to become the 2008 World Barista Champion (see, http://vimeo.com/2254130). Another Irish national champion, Colin Harmon, came fourth in this competition in both 2009 and 2010. This paper discusses the history and development of coffee and coffee houses in Dublin from the 17th century, charting how coffee culture in Dublin appeared, evolved, and stagnated before re-emerging at the beginning of the 21st century, with a remarkable win in the World Barista Championships. The historical links between coffeehouses and media—ranging from print media to electronic and social media—are discussed. In this, the coffee house acts as an informal public gathering space, what urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg calls a “third place,” neither work nor home. These “third places” provide anchors for community life and facilitate and foster broader, more creative interaction (Oldenburg). This paper will also show how competition from other “third places” such as clubs, hotels, restaurants, and bars have affected the vibrancy of coffee houses. Early Coffee Houses The first coffee house was established in Constantinople in 1554 (Tannahill 252; Huetz de Lemps 387). The first English coffee houses opened in Oxford in 1650 and in London in 1652. Coffee houses multiplied thereafter but, in 1676, when some London coffee houses became hotbeds for political protest, the city prosecutor decided to close them. The ban was soon lifted and between 1680 and 1730 Londoners discovered the pleasure of drinking coffee (Huetz de Lemps 388), although these coffee houses sold a number of hot drinks including tea and chocolate as well as coffee.The first French coffee houses opened in Marseille in 1671 and in Paris the following year. Coffee houses proliferated during the 18th century: by 1720 there were 380 public cafés in Paris and by the end of the century there were 600 (Huetz de Lemps 387). Café Procope opened in Paris in 1674 and, in the 18th century, became a literary salon with regular patrons: Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot and Condorcet (Huetz de Lemps 387; Pitte 472). In England, coffee houses developed into exclusive clubs such as Crockford’s and the Reform, whilst elsewhere in Europe they evolved into what we identify as cafés, similar to the tea shops that would open in England in the late 19th century (Tannahill 252-53). Tea quickly displaced coffee in popularity in British coffee houses (Taylor 142). Pettigrew suggests two reasons why Great Britain became a tea-drinking nation while most of the rest of Europe took to coffee (48). The first was the power of the East India Company, chartered by Elizabeth I in 1600, which controlled the world’s biggest tea monopoly and promoted the beverage enthusiastically. The second was the difficulty England had in securing coffee from the Levant while at war with France at the end of the seventeenth century and again during the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-13). Tea also became the dominant beverage in Ireland and over a period of time became the staple beverage of the whole country. In 1835, Samuel Bewley and his son Charles dared to break the monopoly of The East India Company by importing over 2,000 chests of tea directly from Canton, China, to Ireland. His family would later become synonymous with the importation of coffee and with opening cafés in Ireland (see, Farmar for full history of the Bewley's and their activities). Ireland remains the highest per-capita consumer of tea in the world. Coffee houses have long been linked with social and political change (Kennedy, Politicks; Pincus). The notion that these new non-alcoholic drinks were responsible for the Enlightenment because people could now gather socially without getting drunk is rejected by Wheaton as frivolous, since there had always been alternatives to strong drink, and European civilisation had achieved much in the previous centuries (91). She comments additionally that cafés, as gathering places for dissenters, took over the role that taverns had long played. Pennell and Vickery support this argument adding that by offering a choice of drinks, and often sweets, at a fixed price and in a more civilized setting than most taverns provided, coffee houses and cafés were part of the rise of the modern restaurant. It is believed that, by 1700, the commercial provision of food and drink constituted the second largest occupational sector in London. Travellers’ accounts are full of descriptions of London taverns, pie shops, coffee, bun and chop houses, breakfast huts, and food hawkers (Pennell; Vickery). Dublin Coffee Houses and Later incarnations The earliest reference to coffee houses in Dublin is to the Cock Coffee House in Cook Street during the reign of Charles II (1660-85). Public dining or drinking establishments listed in the 1738 Dublin Directory include taverns, eating houses, chop houses, coffee houses, and one chocolate house in Fownes Court run by Peter Bardin (Hardiman and Kennedy 157). During the second half of the 17th century, Dublin’s merchant classes transferred allegiance from taverns to the newly fashionable coffee houses as places to conduct business. By 1698, the fashion had spread to country towns with coffee houses found in Cork, Limerick, Kilkenny, Clonmel, Wexford, and Galway, and slightly later in Belfast and Waterford in the 18th century. Maxwell lists some of Dublin’s leading coffee houses and taverns, noting their clientele: There were Lucas’s Coffee House, on Cork Hill (the scene of many duels), frequented by fashionable young men; the Phoenix, in Werburgh Street, where political dinners were held; Dick’s Coffee House, in Skinner’s Row, much patronized by literary men, for it was over a bookseller’s; the Eagle, in Eustace Street, where meetings of the Volunteers were held; the Old Sot’s Hole, near Essex Bridge, famous for its beefsteaks and ale; the Eagle Tavern, on Cork Hill, which was demolished at the same time as Lucas’s to make room for the Royal Exchange; and many others. (76) Many of the early taverns were situated around the Winetavern Street, Cook Street, and Fishamble Street area. (see Fig. 1) Taverns, and later coffee houses, became meeting places for gentlemen and centres for debate and the exchange of ideas. In 1706, Francis Dickson published the Flying Post newspaper at the Four Courts coffee house in Winetavern Street. The Bear Tavern (1725) and the Black Lyon (1735), where a Masonic Lodge assembled every Wednesday, were also located on this street (Gilbert v.1 160). Dick’s Coffee house was established in the late 17th century by bookseller and newspaper proprietor Richard Pue, and remained open until 1780 when the building was demolished. In 1740, Dick’s customers were described thus: Ye citizens, gentlemen, lawyers and squires,who summer and winter surround our great fires,ye quidnuncs! who frequently come into Pue’s,To live upon politicks, coffee, and news. (Gilbert v.1 174) There has long been an association between coffeehouses and publishing books, pamphlets and particularly newspapers. Other Dublin publishers and newspapermen who owned coffee houses included Richard Norris and Thomas Bacon. Until the 1850s, newspapers were burdened with a number of taxes: on the newsprint, a stamp duty, and on each advertisement. By 1865, these taxes had virtually disappeared, resulting in the appearance of 30 new newspapers in Ireland, 24 of them in Dublin. Most people read from copies which were available free of charge in taverns, clubs, and coffee houses (MacGiolla Phadraig). Coffee houses also kept copies of international newspapers. On 4 May 1706, Francis Dickson notes in the Dublin Intelligence that he held the Paris and London Gazettes, Leyden Gazette and Slip, the Paris and Hague Lettres à la Main, Daily Courant, Post-man, Flying Post, Post-script and Manuscripts in his coffeehouse in Winetavern Street (Kennedy, “Dublin”). Henry Berry’s analysis of shop signs in Dublin identifies 24 different coffee houses in Dublin, with the main clusters in Essex Street near the Custom’s House (Cocoa Tree, Bacon’s, Dempster’s, Dublin, Merchant’s, Norris’s, and Walsh’s) Cork Hill (Lucas’s, St Lawrence’s, and Solyman’s) Skinners’ Row (Bow’s’, Darby’s, and Dick’s) Christ Church Yard (Four Courts, and London) College Green (Jack’s, and Parliament) and Crampton Court (Exchange, and Little Dublin). (see Figure 1, below, for these clusters and the locations of other Dublin coffee houses.) The earliest to be referenced is the Cock Coffee House in Cook Street during the reign of Charles II (1660-85), with Solyman’s (1691), Bow’s (1692), and Patt’s on High Street (1699), all mentioned in print before the 18th century. The name of one, the Cocoa Tree, suggests that chocolate was also served in this coffee house. More evidence of the variety of beverages sold in coffee houses comes from Gilbert who notes that in 1730, one Dublin poet wrote of George Carterwright’s wife at The Custom House Coffee House on Essex Street: Her coffee’s fresh and fresh her tea,Sweet her cream, ptizan, and whea,her drams, of ev’ry sort, we findboth good and pleasant, in their kind. (v. 2 161) Figure 1: Map of Dublin indicating Coffee House clusters 1 = Sackville St.; 2 = Winetavern St.; 3 = Essex St.; 4 = Cork Hill; 5 = Skinner's Row; 6 = College Green.; 7 = Christ Church Yard; 8 = Crampton Court.; 9 = Cook St.; 10 = High St.; 11 = Eustace St.; 12 = Werburgh St.; 13 = Fishamble St.; 14 = Westmorland St.; 15 = South Great George's St.; 16 = Grafton St.; 17 = Kildare St.; 18 = Dame St.; 19 = Anglesea Row; 20 = Foster Place; 21 = Poolbeg St.; 22 = Fleet St.; 23 = Burgh Quay.A = Cafe de Paris, Lincoln Place; B = Red Bank Restaurant, D'Olier St.; C = Morrison's Hotel, Nassau St.; D = Shelbourne Hotel, St. Stephen's Green; E = Jury's Hotel, Dame St. Some coffee houses transformed into the gentlemen’s clubs that appeared in London, Paris and Dublin in the 17th century. These clubs originally met in coffee houses, then taverns, until later proprietary clubs became fashionable. Dublin anticipated London in club fashions with members of the Kildare Street Club (1782) and the Sackville Street Club (1794) owning the premises of their clubhouse, thus dispensing with the proprietor. The first London club to be owned by the members seems to be Arthur’s, founded in 1811 (McDowell 4) and this practice became widespread throughout the 19th century in both London and Dublin. The origin of one of Dublin’s most famous clubs, Daly’s Club, was a chocolate house opened by Patrick Daly in c.1762–65 in premises at 2–3 Dame Street (Brooke). It prospered sufficiently to commission its own granite-faced building on College Green between Anglesea Street and Foster Place which opened in 1789 (Liddy 51). Daly’s Club, “where half the land of Ireland has changed hands”, was renowned for the gambling that took place there (Montgomery 39). Daly’s sumptuous palace catered very well (and discreetly) for honourable Members of Parliament and rich “bucks” alike (Craig 222). The changing political and social landscape following the Act of Union led to Daly’s slow demise and its eventual closure in 1823 (Liddy 51). Coincidentally, the first Starbucks in Ireland opened in 2005 in the same location. Once gentlemen’s clubs had designated buildings where members could eat, drink, socialise, and stay overnight, taverns and coffee houses faced competition from the best Dublin hotels which also had coffee rooms “in which gentlemen could read papers, write letters, take coffee and wine in the evening—an exiguous substitute for a club” (McDowell 17). There were at least 15 establishments in Dublin city claiming to be hotels by 1789 (Corr 1) and their numbers grew in the 19th century, an expansion which was particularly influenced by the growth of railways. By 1790, Dublin’s public houses (“pubs”) outnumbered its coffee houses with Dublin boasting 1,300 (Rooney 132). Names like the Goose and Gridiron, Harp and Crown, Horseshoe and Magpie, and Hen and Chickens—fashionable during the 17th and 18th centuries in Ireland—hung on decorative signs for those who could not read. Throughout the 20th century, the public house provided the dominant “third place” in Irish society, and the drink of choice for itd predominantly male customers was a frothy pint of Guinness. Newspapers were available in public houses and many newspapermen had their own favourite hostelries such as Mulligan’s of Poolbeg Street; The Pearl, and The Palace on Fleet Street; and The White Horse Inn on Burgh Quay. Any coffee served in these establishments prior to the arrival of the new coffee culture in the 21st century was, however, of the powdered instant variety. Hotels / Restaurants with Coffee Rooms From the mid-19th century, the public dining landscape of Dublin changed in line with London and other large cities in the United Kingdom. Restaurants did appear gradually in the United Kingdom and research suggests that one possible reason for this growth from the 1860s onwards was the Refreshment Houses and Wine Licences Act (1860). The object of this act was to “reunite the business of eating and drinking”, thereby encouraging public sobriety (Mac Con Iomaire, “Emergence” v.2 95). Advertisements for Dublin restaurants appeared in The Irish Times from the 1860s. Thom’s Directory includes listings for Dining Rooms from the 1870s and Refreshment Rooms are listed from the 1880s. This pattern continued until 1909, when Thom’s Directory first includes a listing for “Restaurants and Tea Rooms”. Some of the establishments that advertised separate coffee rooms include Dublin’s first French restaurant, the Café de Paris, The Red Bank Restaurant, Morrison’s Hotel, Shelbourne Hotel, and Jury’s Hotel (see Fig. 1). The pattern of separate ladies’ coffee rooms emerged in Dublin and London during the latter half of the 19th century and mixed sex dining only became popular around the last decade of the 19th century, partly infuenced by Cesar Ritz and Auguste Escoffier (Mac Con Iomaire, “Public Dining”). Irish Cafés: From Bewley’s to Starbucks A number of cafés appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, most notably Robert Roberts and Bewley’s, both of which were owned by Quaker families. Ernest Bewley took over the running of the Bewley’s importation business in the 1890s and opened a number of Oriental Cafés; South Great Georges Street (1894), Westmoreland Street (1896), and what became the landmark Bewley’s Oriental Café in Grafton Street (1927). Drawing influence from the grand cafés of Paris and Vienna, oriental tearooms, and Egyptian architecture (inspired by the discovery in 1922 of Tutankhamen’s Tomb), the Grafton Street business brought a touch of the exotic into the newly formed Irish Free State. Bewley’s cafés became the haunt of many of Ireland’s leading literary figures, including Samuel Becket, Sean O’Casey, and James Joyce who mentioned the café in his book, Dubliners. A full history of Bewley’s is available (Farmar). It is important to note, however, that pots of tea were sold in equal measure to mugs of coffee in Bewley’s. The cafés changed over time from waitress- to self-service and a failure to adapt to changing fashions led to the business being sold, with only the flagship café in Grafton Street remaining open in a revised capacity. It was not until the beginning of the 21st century that a new wave of coffee house culture swept Ireland. This was based around speciality coffee beverages such as espressos, cappuccinos, lattés, macchiatos, and frappuccinnos. This new phenomenon coincided with the unprecedented growth in the Irish economy, during which Ireland became known as the “Celtic Tiger” (Murphy 3). One aspect of this period was a building boom and a subsequent growth in apartment living in the Dublin city centre. The American sitcom Friends and its fictional coffee house, “Central Perk,” may also have helped popularise the use of coffee houses as “third spaces” (Oldenberg) among young apartment dwellers in Dublin. This was also the era of the “dotcom boom” when many young entrepreneurs, software designers, webmasters, and stock market investors were using coffee houses as meeting places for business and also as ad hoc office spaces. This trend is very similar to the situation in the 17th and early 18th centuries where coffeehouses became known as sites for business dealings. Various theories explaining the growth of the new café culture have circulated, with reasons ranging from a growth in Eastern European migrants, anti-smoking legislation, returning sophisticated Irish emigrants, and increased affluence (Fenton). Dublin pubs, facing competition from the new coffee culture, began installing espresso coffee machines made by companies such as Gaggia to attract customers more interested in a good latté than a lager and it is within this context that Irish baristas gained such success in the World Barista competition. In 2001 the Georges Street branch of Bewley’s was taken over by a chain called Café, Bar, Deli specialising in serving good food at reasonable prices. Many ex-Bewley’s staff members subsequently opened their own businesses, roasting coffee and running cafés. Irish-owned coffee chains such as Java Republic, Insomnia, and O’Brien’s Sandwich Bars continued to thrive despite the competition from coffee chains Starbucks and Costa Café. Indeed, so successful was the handmade Irish sandwich and coffee business that, before the economic downturn affected its business, Irish franchise O’Brien’s operated in over 18 countries. The Café, Bar, Deli group had also begun to franchise its operations in 2008 when it too became a victim of the global economic downturn. With the growth of the Internet, many newspapers have experienced falling sales of their printed format and rising uptake of their electronic versions. Most Dublin coffee houses today provide wireless Internet connections so their customers can read not only the local newspapers online, but also others from all over the globe, similar to Francis Dickenson’s coffee house in Winetavern Street in the early 18th century. Dublin has become Europe’s Silicon Valley, housing the European headquarters for companies such as Google, Yahoo, Ebay, Paypal, and Facebook. There are currently plans to provide free wireless connectivity throughout Dublin’s city centre in order to promote e-commerce, however, some coffee houses shut off the wireless Internet in their establishments at certain times of the week in order to promote more social interaction to ensure that these “third places” remain “great good places” at the heart of the community (Oldenburg). Conclusion Ireland is not a country that is normally associated with a coffee culture but coffee houses have been part of the fabric of that country since they emerged in Dublin in the 17th century. These Dublin coffee houses prospered in the 18th century, and survived strong competition from clubs and hotels in the 19th century, and from restaurant and public houses into the 20th century. In 2008, when Stephen Morrissey won the coveted title of World Barista Champion, Ireland’s place as a coffee consuming country was re-established. 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Totnes: Prospect Books, 1992. 311–14. World Barista, Championship. “History–World Barista Championship”. 2012. 02 Apr. 2012 ‹http://worldbaristachampionship.com2012›.AcknowledgementA warm thank you to Dr. Kevin Griffin for producing the map of Dublin for this article.

“A bunch of faggots for watching men hug each other in tights.”For the past five Marches, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has produced an awards show which honours its aged former performers, such as Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, as pro-wrestling Legends. This awards show, according to WWE, is ‘an elegant, emotional, star-studded event that recognizes the in-ring achievements of the inductees and offers historical insights into this century-old sports-entertainment attraction’ (WWE.com, n.p.). In an episodic storyline leading up to the 2009 awards, however, the real-life personal shortcomings of these Legends have been brought to light, and subsequently mocked in one-on-one interview segments with WWE’s Superstar of the Year 2008, the dastardly Chris Jericho. Jericho caps off these tirades by physically assaulting the Legends with handy stage props. Significantly, the performances of Jericho and his victims have garnered positive attention not only from mass audiences unaware of backstage happenings in WWE, but also from the informed community of pro-wrestling fans over at the nihilistic humour website SomethingAwful. During Jericho’s assault on the Legend Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka at the March 02 WWE Raw event, a WWE-themed forum thread on SomethingAwful logged over sixty posts all reiterating variations of ‘gently caress me Jericho is amazing’ (Jerusalem, n.p.). This is despite the community’s passive-aggressive and ironically jaded official line that they indeed are ‘a bunch of faggots for watching men hug each other in tights. Thank you for not telling us this several times’ (HulkaMatt, n.p.). Why were these normally cynical fans of WWE enthusiastically expressing their love for the Jericho-Legends feud? In order to answer this question, this paper argues that the feud articulates not only the ideal of the “giving wrestler”, but also Roland Barthes’s version of jouissance. Consuming and commenting on WWE texts within the SomethingAwful community is further argued to be a performative ritual in which informed wrestling fans distance themselves from audiences they perceive as uncritical and ill-informed cultural dupes. The feud, then, allows the SomethingAwful fans to perform enthusiasm on two interconnected levels: they are not only able to ironically cheer on Jericho’s morally reprehensible actions, but also to genuinely appreciate the present-day in-ring efforts of the Legends. The Passion of the SuperflyTo properly contextualise this paper, though, the fact that “pro wrestling is fake” needs to be reiterated. Each match is a choreographed sequence of moves. Victory does not result from landing more damaging bodyslams than one's opponent, but is instead predetermined by scriptwriters—among whom wrestlers are typically not numbered—backstage. In the 1950s, Roland Barthes thus commented that pro wrestling ‘is not a sport, it is a spectacle’ (Mythologies 13). Yet, pro wrestling remains popular because this theatricality allows for the display of spectacular excesses of passion—here Barthes not only means “an intensity of emotion”, but refers to the physically tortured heroes of medieval passion plays as well—giving it an advantage over the legitimate sport of amateur wrestling. ‘It is obvious that at such a pitch, it no longer matters whether the passion is genuine or not. What the public wants is the image of passion, not passion itself’ (Mythologies 16). This observation still holds true in today’s WWE. On one hand, the SomethingAwful fans go ‘gently caress Jericho, [Superfly] will MURDER you’ (Jerusalem, n.p.) in disapproval of Jericho’s on-screen actions. In the same thread, though, they simultaneously fret over him being slightly injured from an off-screen real life accident. ‘Jericho looks busted up on his forehead. Dang’ (Carney, n.p.).However, Barthes’s observations, while seminal, are not the be-all and end-all of pro wrestling scholarship. The industry has undergone a significant number of changes since the 1950s. Speeches and interview segments are now seen as essential tools for furthering storylines. Correspondingly, they are given ample TV time. At over ten minutes, the Jericho-“Superfly” confrontation from the March 02 Raw is longer than both the matches following it, and a fifteen minute conversation between two top wrestlers capstones these two matches. Henry Jenkins has thus argued that pro wrestling is a male-targeted melodrama. Its ‘writers emphasize many traits that [legitimate sports such as] football share with melodrama-the clear opposition between characters, the sharp alignment of audience identification, abrupt shifts in fortune, and an emotionally satisfying resolution’ (Jenkins, “Never Trust a Snake” 81). Unlike football, though, the predetermined nature of pro wrestling means that its events can be ‘staged to ensure maximum emotional impact and a satisfying climax’ (Jenkins, “Never Trust a Snake” 81). Further, Jenkins notes that shouting is preferred over tears as an outlet for male affect. It ‘embodies externalised emotion; it is aggressive and noisy. Women cry from a position of emotional (and often social) vulnerability; men shout from a position of physical and social strength (however illusory)’ (Jenkins, “Never Trust a Snake” 80). Pro wrestling is seen to encourage this outlet for affect by offering its viewers spectacles of male physical prowess to either castigate or cheer. Jericho’s assault of the Legends, coupled with his half-screaming, half-shouting taunts of “‘Hall of Famer’? ‘Hall of Famer’ of what? You’re a has-been! Just like all the rest!” could be read to fit within this paradigm as well. Smarts vs. MarksWWE has repeatedly highlighted its scripted nature in recent years. During a 2007 CNN interview, for instance, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon constantly refers to his product as “entertainment” and laughingly agrees that “it’s all story” when discussing his on-screen interactions with his long-lost midget “son” (Griffin, n.p.). These overt acknowledgments that WWE is a highly choreographed melodrama have boosted the growth of a fan demographic referred to the "smart" in pro-wrestling argot. This “smart” fan is a figure for whom the fabricated nature of pro-wrestling necessitates an engagement with the WWE spectacle at a different level from mass audiences. The “smart” not only ‘follow[s] the WWE not just to see the shows, but to keep track of what “the Fed[eration]” is doing’ (McBride and Bird 170) with regards to off-camera events, but also 'has knowledge of the inner-workings of the wrestling business’ (PWTorch, n.p.). One of the few “GOLD”-rated threads on the SomethingAwful smart forums, accordingly, is titled “WWE News and Other Top Stories, The Insider Thread”, and has nearly 400 000 views and over 1000 posts. As a result, the smarts are in a subject position of relative insider-ness. They consume the WWE spectacle at a deeper level—one which functions roughly like an apparatus of capture for the critical/cynical affect mobilised around the binary of ‘real’ and ‘fake’—yet ultimately remain captured by the spectacle through their autodidact enthusiasm for knowledge which uncovers its inner workings.By contrast, there is the category of the “mark” fan. These “marks” are individuals who remain credulous in their reception of WWE programming. As cuteygrl08 writes regarding a recent WWE storyline involving brotherly envy:I LOVE JEFF HARDY!!!! i cried when i heard his brother say all the crap about him!! kinda weird but i love him and this video is soooo good!! JEFF hardy loves his fans and his fans love him no matter what he does i'll always love JEFF HARDY!!!!!!!!!!! (n.p.)This unstinting faith in the on-screen spectacle is understandable insofar as WWE programming trades upon powerful visual markers of authenticity—nearly-bare bodies, sweat, pained facial expressions­—and complements them with the adrenaline-producing beats of thrash metal and hard rock. Yet, smarts look down upon marks like cuteygrl08, seeing them as Frankfurt School-era hypnotised sots for whom the WWE spectacle is ‘the common ground of the deceived gaze and of false consciousness’ (Debord 117), and additionally as victims of a larger media industry which specialises in mass deception (Horkheimer and Adorno 41). As Lawrence McBride and Elizabeth Bird observe:Marks appear to believe in the authenticity of the competition—Smarts see them as the stereotypical dupes imagined by wrestling critics. Smarts approach the genre of wrestling as would-be insiders, while Marks root unreflexively for the most popular faces. Smart fans possess truly incredible amounts of knowledge about the history of wrestling, including wrestler’s real names and career histories, how various promotions began and folded, who won every Wrestlemania ever. Smart fan informants defined a Mark specifically as someone who responds to wrestling in the way intended by the people who write the storylines (the bookers), describing Marks with statements such as “Kids are Marks.” or “We were all Marks when we were kids.” Smarts view Marks with scorn. (169)Perhaps feeding on the antagonistic binaries drawn by WWE programming, there exists an “us vs them” binary in smart fan communities. Previous research has shown that fan communities often rigidly police the boundaries of “good taste”, and use negatively constructed differences as a means of identity construction (Fiske 448; Jenkins, “Get a Life!” 432; Theodoropoulou 321). This ritual Othering is especially important when supporting the WWE. Smarts are aware that they are fans of a product denigrated by non-fans as ‘trash TV’ (McKinley, n.p.). As Matt Hills finds, fandom is a mode of performative consumption. It is ‘an identity which is (dis)claimed, and which performs cultural work’ (Hills xi). Belonging to the SomethingAwful smart community, thus, exerts its own pressures on the individual smart. There, the smart must perform ‘audiencehood, knowing that other fans will act as a readership for speculation, observation, and commentaries’ (Hills 177). Wrestling, then, is not just to be watched passively. It must be analysed, and critically dissected with reference to the encyclopaedic knowledge treasured by the smart community. Mark commentary has to be pilloried, for despite all the ironic disaffection characterising their posts, the smarts display mark-like behaviour by watching and purchasing WWE programming under their own volition. A near-existential dread is hence articulated when smarts become aware of points where the boundaries between smart and mark overlap, that ‘the creatures that lurk the internet ...carry some of the same interests that we do’ (rottingtrashcan, n.p.). Any commonalities between smarts and marks must thus be disavowed as a surface resemblance: afterall, creatures are simply unthinking appetites, not smart epicures. We’re better than those plebs; in fact, we’re nothing like them any more. Yet, in one of the few forms of direct address in the glossary of smart newsletter PWTorch, to “mark out” is ‘to enthusiastically be into [a storyline] or match as if you [emphasis added] were “a mark”; to suspend one's disbelief for the sake of enjoying to a greater extent a match or [a storyline]’ (PWTorch, n.p.). The existence of the term “marking out” in a smart glossary points to an enjoyably liminal privileged position between that of defensively ironic critic and that of credulous dupe, one where smarts can stop their performance of cooler-than-thou fatigue and enthusiastically believe that there is nothing more to WWE than spontaneous alarms and excursions. The bodily reactions of the Legends in response to Jericho's physical assault helps foster this willing naiveté. These reactions are a distressing break from the generic visual conventions set forth by preceding decades of professional wrestling. As Barthes argues, wrestling is as much concerned with images of spectacular suffering as with narratives of amazing triumphs:the wrestler who suffers in a hold which is reputedly cruel (an arm- lock, a twisted leg) offers an excessive portrayal of Suffering; like a primitive Pieta, he exhibits for all to see his face, exaggeratedly contorted by an intolerable affliction. It is obvious, of course, that in wrestling reserve would be out of place, since it is opposed to the voluntary ostentation of the spectacle, to this Exhibition of Suffering which is the very aim of the fight. (17)Barthes was writing of the primitively filmed wrestling matches of the 1950s notable for their static camera shots. However, WWE wrestlers yet follow this theatrical aesthetic. In the match immediately following Jericho’s bullying of Superfly, Kane considerately jumps the last two feet into a ringside turnbuckle after Mike Knox pushes him into its general vicinity. Kane grunts at the impact while the camera cuts to a low-angled shot of his back—all the better to magnify the visual of the 150 kg Knox now using his bulk to squash Kane. Whenever Jericho himself traps his opponent in his “Walls of Jericho” submission manoeuvre, both their faces are rictuses of passion. His opponent clutches for the safety of the ring ropes, shaking his head in heroic determination. Audiences see Jericho tighten his grip, his own head shaking in villainous purpose. But the Legends do not gyrate around the set when hit. Instead, they invariably slump to the ground, motionless except for weakly spasming to the rhythm of Jericho’s subsequent attacks. This atypical reaction forces audiences—smart and mark alike—to re-evaluate any assumptions that the event constitutes a typical WWE beatdown. Overblown theatricality gives way to a scene which seems more related to everyday experiences with pain: Here's an old man being beaten and whipped by a strong, young man. He's not moving. Not like other wrestlers do. I wonder... The battered bodies of these Legends are then framed in high angle camera shots, making them look ever so much more vulnerable than they were prior to Jericho’s assault. Hence the smart statements gushing that ‘gently caress me Jericho is amazing’ (Jerusalem, n.p.) and that Jericho’s actions have garnered a ‘rear end in a top hat chant [from the crowd]. It has been FOREVER since I heard one of those. I love Chris Jericho’ (Burrito, n.p.).Jouissance and “Marking Out”This uninhibited “marking out” by normally cynical smarts brings to mind Barthes's observation that texts are able to provoke two different kinds of enjoyment in their readers. On one hand, there is the text which provides pleasure born from familiarity. It ‘contents, fills, grants euphoria; [it is] the text that comes from culture and does not break with it, is linked to a comfortable practice of reading’ (Barthes, Image-Music-Text 14). The Knox-Kane match engendered such a been-there-done-that-it's-ok-I-guess overall reaction from smarts. For every ‘Mike Knox throwing Mysterio at Kane was fantastic’ (Burrito, n.p.), there is an ‘Ahahaha jesus Knox [sic] that was the shittiest Hurracanrana sell ever’ (Axisillian, n.p.), and a ‘Hit the beard [sic] it is Knox's weakpoint’ (Eurotrash, n.p.). The pleasant genericity of the match enables and necessitates that these smarts maintain their tactic of ironic posturing. They are able to armchair critique Knox for making his opponent's spinning Hurracanrana throw look painless. Yet they are also allowed to reiterate their camp affection for Knox's large and bushy beard, which remains grotesque even when divorced from a WWE universe that celebrates sculpted physiques.By contrast, Barthes praises the text of rapturous jouissance. It is one where an orgasmic intensity of pleasure is born from the unravelling of its audience’s assumptions, moving them away from their comfort zone. It is a text which ‘imposes a stage of loss, [a] text that discomforts (perhaps to the point of boredom), unsettles the reader's historical, cultural, psychological assumptions, the consistency of his tastes, values, memories, brings to crisis his relation with language’ (Barthes, Image-Music-Text 14). In addition to the atypical physical reactions of the Legends, WWE cynically positions the Jericho-Legends segments during Raw events which also feature slick video montages highlighting the accomplishments of individual Legends. These montages—complete with an erudite and enthusiastic Voice-of-God narrator— introduce the long-retired Legends to marks unfamiliar with WWE's narrative continuity: “Ladies and gentlemen! Rrriiiicky “The Draaagon” Steeeeamboat!”. At the same time, they serve as a visually and aurally impressive highlight-reel-cum-nostalgic-celebration of each Legend's career accomplishments. Their authoritative narration is spliced to clips of past matches, and informs audiences that, for instance, Steamboat was ‘one of the first Superstars to combine technical skills with astounding aerial agility ... in a match widely regarded as one of the best in history, he captured the Intercontinental title from Randy Savage in front of a record-breaking 93 173 fans’ (“Raw #636”, WWE). Following the unassailably authentic video footage of past matches, other retired wrestlers speak candidly in non-WWE stages such as outdoor parks and their own homes about the Legend's strengths and contributions to the industry.The interesting thing about these didactic montages is not so much what they show —Legends mythologised into triumphant Titans — but rather, what they elide. While the Steamboat-centred package does reflect the smart consensus that his Intercontinental bout ‘was a technical classic, and to this day, is still considered one of the greatest matches of all-time’ (NPP, n.p.), it does not mention how Steamboat was treated poorly in the WWE. Despite coming to it as the widely-known World Champion of [the NWA] rival promotion, WWE producers ‘dressed Steamboat up as a dragon and even made him blow fire. ...To boot, he was never acknowledged as a World Champion and [kept losing] to the stars’ (NPP, n.p.). The montages, overtly endorsed by the gigantic WWE logo as they are, are ultimately pleasant illusions which rewrite inconvenient truths while glamorising pleasant memories.Jericho’s speeches, however, sharply break from this celebratory mode. He references Steamboat’s previous success in the NWA, ‘an organisation that according to this company never even existed’(“Raw #636”, WWE). He then castigates Steamboat for being a real-life sellout and alludes to Steamboat having personal problems unmentioned in the montage:It wasn't until you came to the WWE that you sold your soul to all of these parasites [everyone watching] that you became “The Dragon”. A glorified Karate Kid selling headbands and making poses. Feeding into stereotypes. And then you eventually came to the ring with a Komodo Dragon. Literally spitting fire like the circus freak you'd become. It was pathetic. But hey, it's all right as long as you're making a paycheck, right Steamboat? And then when you decided to retire, you ended up like all the rest. Down and out. Broken. Beaten down. Dysfunctional family ...You applied for a job working for the WWE, you got one working backstage, and now here you are. You see, Steamboat, you are a life-long sellout. And now, with the Hall of Fame induction, the loyal dog gets his bone. (WWE)Here, Jericho demonstrates an apparent unwillingness to follow the company line by not only acknowledging the NWA, but also by disrespecting a current WWE backstage authority. Yet, wrestlers having onscreen tangles with their bosses is the norm for WWE. The most famous storyline of the 1990s had “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and the WWE Chairman brutalising each other for months on end, and the fifteen minute verbal exchange mentioned earlier concerns one wrestler previously attacking the Raw General Manager. Rather, it is Jericho’s reinterpretation of Steamboat’s career trajectory which gives the storyline the intensely pleasurable uncertainty of jouissance. His confrontational speeches rupture the celebratory nostalgia of the montages, forcing smarts to apply extra-textual knowledge to them. This is especially relevant in Steamboat’s case. His montage was shown just prior to his meeting with Jericho, ensuring that his iconic status was fresh in the audience’s memory. Vera Dika’s findings on the conflict between memory and history in revisionist nostalgia films are important to remember here. The tension ‘that comes from the juxtaposition of the coded material against the historical context of the film itself ...encourages a new set of meanings to arise’ (Dika 91). Jericho cynically views the seemingly virtuous and heroic Steamboat as a corporate sycophant preying on fan goodwill to enrich his own selfish ends. This viewpoint, troublingly enough for smarts, is supported by their non-WWE-produced extra-textual knowledge, allowing for a meta-level melodrama to be played out. The speeches thus speak directly to smarts, simultaneously confounding and exceeding their expectations. The comfortingly pleasant memories of Steamboat’s “amazing aerial prowess” are de-emphasised, and he is further linked to the stereotypical juvenilia of the once-popular The Karate Kid. They articulate and capitalise upon whatever misgivings smarts may have regarding Steamboat’s real-life actions. Thus, to paraphrase Dika, ‘seen in this clash, [the Jericho-Legends feud] has the structure of irony, producing a feeling of nostalgia, but also of pathos, and registering the historical events as the cause of an irretrievable loss [of a Legend’s dignity]’ (91). “C’mon Legend! Live in the past!” taunts Jericho as he stuffs Superfly’s mouth with bananas and beats him amidst the wreckage of the exactingly reproduced cheap wooden set in the same way that “Rowdy” Roddy Piper did years ago (“RAW #637”, WWE). This literal dismantling of cherished memories results from WWE producers second-guessing the smarts, and providing these fans with an enjoyably uncomfortable jouissance that cleverly confounds the performance of a smart disaffection. “Marking out” —or its performance at least—results.The Giving WrestlerLastly, the general physical passivity of the Legends also ties into the ethos of the “giving wrestler” when combined with the celebratory montages. In a business where performed passion is integral to fan enjoyment, the “giving wrestler” is an important figure who, when hit by a high-risk move, will make his co-worker’s offense look convincing (McBride and Bird 173). He ‘will give his all in a performance to ensure a dual outcome: the match will be spectacular, benefiting the fans, and each wrestler will make his “opponent” look good, helping him “get over with the fans” (McBride and Bird 172). Unsurprisingly, this figure is appreciated by smarts, who ‘often form strong emotional attachments to those wrestlers who go to the greatest lengths to bear the burden of the performance’ (McBride and Bird 173). As described earlier, the understated reactions of the Legends make Jericho’s attacks paradoxically look as though they cause extreme pain. Yet, when this pathetic image of the Legends is combined with the hypermasculine images of them in their heyday, a tragedy with real-life referents is played out on-stage. In one of Jenkins’s ‘abrupt shifts of fortune’ (“Never Trust a Snake” 81), age has grounded these Legends. They can now believably be assaulted with impunity by someone that Steamboat dismisses as ‘a snotty brat wrestler of a kid[sic] ...a hypocrite’ (“Raw #636”, WWE), and even in this, they apparently give their all to make Jericho look viciously “good”, thus exceeding the high expectations of smarts. As an appreciative thread title on SomethingAwful states, ‘WWE Discussion is the RICKY STEAMBOAT OWN [wins] ZONE for 02/23/09’ (HulkaMatt, n.p.) ConclusionThe Jericho-Legends feud culminated the day after the Hall of Fame ceremony, at the WWE’s flagship Wrestlemania event. Actor Mickey Rourke humiliated Jericho for the honour of the Legends, flattening the cocky braggart with a single punch. The maximum degree of moral order possible was thus temporarily restored to an episodic narrative centred around unprovoked acts of violence. Ultimately though, it is important to note the three strategies that WWE used The Legends were scripted to respond feebly to Jericho’s physical assault, slick recap montages were copiously deployed, and Jericho himself was allowed candid metatextual references to incidents that WWE producers normally like to pretend have “never even existed”. All these strategies were impressive in their own right, and they eventually served to reinforce each other. 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Photograph by Gonzalo Echeverria (2010)“Let us not doubt in philosophy what we do not doubt in our hearts.” (C. S. Peirce) Introduction Doubting has always had a somewhat bad name. A “doubting Thomas” is a pejorative term for one who doubts what he or she has not witnessed first-hand, a saying which derives originally from Thomas the Apostle’s doubting of the resurrected Christ. That doubt is the opposite of faith or conviction seems to cast doubt in a bad light. There is also the saying “He has the strength of his convictions” which seems to imply we ought correspondingly to say, “He has the weakness of his doubts”. One might recall that Socrates was likened to an electric eel because his peculiar form of questioning had the power to stun his interlocutors by crushing their pet convictions and cherished beliefs under the weight of the wise man’s reasonable doubts. Despite this bad press, however, doubting is a rational activity motivated by a vitally important concern for the truth, for getting things right. And our capacity to nurture reasonable doubts and to take them seriously is now more important than ever. Consider these examples: 1) In the modern world we are relying more and more on the veracity of the Internet’s enormous and growing mass of data often without much thought about its epistemic credentials or provenance. But who or what underwrites its status as information, its presumption of truth? 2) The global financial crisis depended upon the fact that economists and bank analysts placed unbounded confidence in being able to give mathematically precise models for risk, chance and decision-making under conditions of unavoidable ignorance and uncertainty. Why weren’t these models doubted before the crisis? 3) The CIA helped build the case for war in Iraq by not taking properly into account the scant and often contradictory evidence that Saddam Hussain’s regime had weapons of mass destruction. The neat alignment of US neo-conservative policy and CIA “intelligence” ought to have raised serious doubts that might have derailed the justification for war and its inevitable casualties and costs. (See Burns in this issue — Eds.) 4) On the other hand, it is quite likely that corporations that stand to lose large sums of money are fuelling unreasonable doubts about climate change—to what extent we are responsible for it, what the chances are of mitigating its effects, etc.—through misinformation and misdirection. In this paper I want to go a step beyond these specific instances of the value of appropriate doubt. Learning how to doubt, when to doubt and what to doubt is at the heart of a powerful pragmatist approach to philosophy—understood as reflective thinking at its best. After considering two ways of thinking about doubt, I shall outline the pragmatist approach and then briefly consider its bearing on the problems of dogmatism and bullshit in contemporary society. Two Notions of Doubt It is important to distinguish doubts about beliefs from doubts about certainty. That is, in everyday parlance the term “doubt” seems to have two connotations depending on which of these notions it is contrasted with. First of all, doubt can be contrasted with belief. To doubt a belief is to be in “twosome twiminds” as James Joyce aptly put it: a state of neither believing nor disbelieving but hovering between the two, without committing oneself, undecided. To doubt in this sense is to sit on the fence, to vacillate over a truth commitment, to remain detached. In this context doubt is not disbelief but, rather, un-belief. Secondly, doubt can be contrasted with certainty, the absence of doubt. To doubt something that we thought was certain is not to doubt whether it is true or reasonable to believe. If someone asks what the colour of my car is and I say it’s painted blue they might then say, “How do you know that someone has not painted it red in your absence?” This is, of course, possible but it is not at all likely. Even if it causes me to be very slightly doubtful—and, as we shall see, pragmatism offers reasons to block this step—it would not lead me to actually doubt what the colour of my car is. To be less than fully certain is consistent with continuing to believe and doing so for good (even overwhelming) reasons. Of course, some forms of belief such as religious faith may require certainty, in which case to doubt them at all is tantamount to undermining the required attitude. There is also a notion of absolute certainty, meaning the impossibility of doubt. Descartes inaugurates modern philosophy by employing a method of extreme and radical doubting in order to discover absolutely certain (i.e. indubitable) truths. His Meditations involves solipsistic doubts about whether there is an external world, including one’s own body and other people, since perhaps its all a myriad of one’s own subjective experiences. Clearly such philosophical doubt concerns matters that are not ordinarily doubted or even seen as open to doubt. As we shall see, pragmatism sides with common sense here. A Pragmatist Perspective on Doubt With this preliminary distinction in place we can now list four pragmatist insights about doubt that help to reveal its fruitfulness and importance for critical reflection in any field, including philosophy itself: 1) Genuine doubts require reasons. Genuine doubts, doubts we are required to take seriously, arise from particular problematic situations for definite reasons. One does not doubt at will just as one does not believe at will. I cannot believe that I am the Wimbledon tennis champion just by willing to believe it. So, too, I cannot doubt what I believe just by willing to doubt it. I cannot doubt that it is a sunny day if everything speaks in favour of its being so: I’m outside, seeing the sun and clear blue skies etc. Some philosophers think that the mere conceivability or possibility of error is enough to generate a live doubt but pragmatists contest this. For example, is knowledge of what I see before me now undermined because I am not able to rule out the possibility that my brain is being artificially stimulated to induce experiences, as seen in The Matrix? Such brain-in-a-vat doubts are not genuine for the pragmatist because they do not constitute a legitimate reason to doubt. Why? For one thing we have no actual machine that can create an artificial temporally extended “world image” through brain stimulation. These are merely conceivable or “paper” doubts, unliveable paradoxes that we think about in the study but do not take seriously in everyday life. Of course, if we did have such a machine—and it is not clear that this is even technically possible today—this situation would no doubt change. 2) There are no absolute certainties (guaranteed indubitable truths). As we have seen, ordinarily the term “certainty” stands for the actual absence of doubt. That is what we might call subjective certainty since where I am free of doubt another might be doubtful. Subjective certainty is the common state of most people most of the time about many things such as what their name is, where they live, who their family and friends are, what they like to eat etc. There is also Descartes’s notion of what cannot be doubted under any circumstances, which we might call absolute certainty. Traditional philosophy believed it could discover absolute certainties by means of reason alone, these truths being called a priori. At the heart of pragmatism are doubts about all propositions that were previously regarded as absolute certainties. That is, there are no a priori truths in the traditional sense according to the pragmatist. Nothing is guaranteed to be true come what may, even the truths of logic or mathematics which we currently cannot imagine being false. It was at one time thought to be a necessary truth that two straight lines both perpendicular to another straight line never meet… that was, until the nineteenth century discovery of Riemannian geometry. What was supposedly a necessary a priori truth turned out to be false in this context. That anything can be doubted does not mean that everything can be doubted all at once. The attempt to doubt all one’s worldly beliefs presumably includes doubting that one knows the meaning of the words one uses in raising this very doubt (since one doubts the meaning of the term “doubt” itself)—or doubting whether one knows the contents of one’s thoughts—in which case one would undermine the sense of one’s doubts in the very attempt to doubt. But that makes no sense. The moral is that if doubt is to make sense then it might be wide-reaching but it cannot be fully universal. The human desire for absolute certainty is probably inescapable so the lessons of fallibilism need to be hard won again and again. Anything can be doubted—in so far as it makes sense to do so. This is the pragmatist doctrine of fallibilism. It is the position one gets by making room for doubt in one’s system of beliefs without lapsing into complete skepticism. 3) Inquiry is the fallibilistic removal of doubt. Doubt is an unsettled state of mind and “the sole object of inquiry is the settlement of opinion” (Peirce, "Fixation" 375). We are, by nature, epistemically conservative and retain our body of beliefs, or as many of them as possible, in the face of positive reasons for doubt. A doubt stimulates us to an inquiry, which ends by dissolving the doubt and, perhaps, a slight readjustment of our network of beliefs. Since this inquiry is a fallible one nothing is guaranteed to be held fast: there are no eternal truths or indispensable methods. Ancient Pyrrhonian skeptics developed techniques for doubting whether we have any reason to believe one thing rather than another. A famous argument-form they explored is called Agrippa’s Trilemma. If we ask why we should believe any given belief then we must give another belief to serve as a reason. But then the same question arises for it in turn and so on. If we are to avoid the looming infinite regress of reasons for reasons we seem to only have two unpalatable options: either to argue viciously in a circle; or to simply stop at some arbitrary point. The argument thus seems to show that nothing we believe is justified. Pragmatism blocks this trilemma at its origin by arguing that our beliefs conform to a default-and-challenge structure. Current beliefs have the status of default entitlements unless or until specific challenges to them (real doubts) are legitimately raised. On this conception we can be entitled to the beliefs we actually have without requiring reasons for them simply because we have them and lack any good reason for doubt. In an image owed to Otto Neurath, we rebuild our wooden ship of beliefs whilst at sea, replacing planks as need be but, since we must stay afloat, never all planks at once (Quine). Inquiry demands the removal of all actual doubt, not all possible doubt. A belief is, as Charles Peirce conceives it, a habit of action. To doubt a belief, then, is to undermine one’s capacity to act in the relevant respect. The ancient philosopher, Pyrrho, was reputed to need handlers to stop him putting his hands into fire or walking off cliffs because, as a radical skeptic, he lacked the relevant beliefs about fire and falling to make him aware of any danger. The pragmatist, oriented towards action and human practices, does not rest content with his doubts but overcomes them in favour of settled beliefs by way of “a continual process of re-experimenting and re-creating” (Dewey 220) 4) Inquiry requires a democratic ethics. The pragmatist conception of inquiry rehabilitates Plato’s analogy between self and society: the norms of how one is to conduct one’s inquiries are the norms of democratic society. Inquiry is a cooperative human interaction with an environment not, as in the Cartesian tradition, a private activity of solitary a priori reflection. It depends on a social conception of (fallible) reason—understood as intelligent action— which conforms to the democratic ethical principles of the fair and equal right of all to be heard, an invitation and openness to criticism, the toleration of dissenting voices, and instituting methods to help cooperatively resolve disagreements, etc. We inquire in medias res (in the middle of things)—that is, from the midst of our current beliefs and convictions within a community of inquirers. There is no need for a Cartesian propaedeutic doubt to weed out any trace of falsity at the start of inquiry. From the pragmatist point of view we must learn to live with the ineliminable possibility of error and doubt, and of inevitable shortcomings in both our answers and methods. Problems can be overcome as they arise through a self-correcting experimental method of inquiry in which nothing is sacred. A key feature of this conception of inquiry is that it places reasonable doubt at its centre: 1) a sustained doubting of old “certainties” of traditional authorities (e.g. religious, political) or of traditional a priori reason (philosophy); 2) a constant need to distinguish genuine or live doubts from philosophical or paper doubts; 3) and the idea that genuine doubts are both the stimulant to a new inquiry and, when dissolved, signal its end. Dogmatism The importance of the pragmatist conceptions of inquiry and doubt can be appreciated by seeing that various pathologies of believing—pathologies of how to form and maintain beliefs that—are natural to us. Of particular note are dogmatism and fanaticism, which are forms of fixed believing unhinged from rational criticism and sustained without regard to such matters as evidential support, reasonableness and plausibility within the wider community of informed inquirers. Since they divide the world into us and them, fellow-believers and the rest, they inevitably lead to disagreements and hostility. Dogmatists and fanatics loom large in the contemporary world as evidenced by the widespread and malevolent influence of religious, ideological and political dogmas, confrontational forms of nationalism, and fanatical “true believers” in all shapes and forms from die-hard conspiracy theorists to adherents of fad diets and the followers of self-appointed gurus and cult-leaders. The great problem with such forms of believing is that they leave no room for reasonable doubts, which history tells us inevitably arise in matters of human social life and our place in the world. And as history also tells us we go to war and put each other to death over matters of belief and disbelief; of conviction and its lack. Think of Socrates, Jesus, the victims of the Spanish Inquisition, Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and Oscar Romero to name only a small few who have been killed for their beliefs. A great virtue of pragmatism is its anti-authoritarian stance, which is achieved by building doubt into its very methodology and by embracing a democratic ethos that makes each person equally answerable to reasonable doubt. From this perspective dogmatists and fanatical believers are ostracised as retaining an outmoded authoritarian conception of believing that has been superseded in the most successful branches of human inquiry—such as the natural sciences. Bullshit To bullshit is to talk without knowing what one is talking about. Harry Frankfurt has observed, “one of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit” (117); and he goes on to argue that bullshitters are “a greater enemy of truth than liars are” (132). Liars care about the truth since they are trying to deceive others into believing what is not true. Bullshitters may say what is true but more often exaggerate, embellish and window-dress. Their purposes lies elsewhere than getting things right so they do not really care whether what they say is true or false or a mixture of the two. Politicians, advertising agents, salesmen and drug company representatives are notorious for bullshitting. Bill Clinton’s “I did not have sex with that woman” is a famous example of political bullshit. He said it for purely political reasons and when he was found to have lied (the evidence being the infamous unwashed dress of Monica Lewinsky) he changed the lie into a truth by redefining the word “sex”—another example of bullshit. The bullshitter can speak the truth but what matters is always the spin. The bullshitter need not (contra Frankfurt) hide his own lack of concern for the truth. He plays at truth-telling but he can do this more or less openly. The so-called bullshit artist may even try to make a virtue out of revealing his bullshit as the bullshit it is, thereby making his audience complicit. But the great danger of bullshit is not so much to others, as to oneself. Inveterate bullshitters are inevitably tempted to believe their own bullshit leading to a situation in which they do not know their own minds. Only one who knows his own mind is aware of what he is committed to, and what he takes responsibility for in the wider community of inquirers who rely on each other for information and reasonable criticism. Doubting provides a defence against bullshitters since it blocks their means: the doubter reaffirms a concern for the truth including the truth about oneself, which the bullshitter is wilfully avoiding. To doubt is to withhold a commitment to the truth through a demand not to commit too hastily or for the wrong reasons. A concern for the truth, for getting things right, is thus central to the practice of reasonable doubting. And reasonably doubting, in turn, depends on knowing one’s own mind, what truths one is committed to, and what epistemic responsibilities one thus incurs to justify and defend truths and to criticise falsehood. Democracy and fallibilist inquiry were borne of doubts about the benevolence, wisdom and authority of tyrants, dictators, priests and kings. Their continued vitality depends on maintaining a healthy skepticism about the beliefs of others and about whether we know our own minds. Only so can we sustain our vital concern for the truth in the face of the pervasive challenges of dogmatists and bullshitters. References Descartes, R. “Meditations on First Philosophy.” In The Philosophical Writings of Descartes: Vols. I-III. J. Cottingham et. al., eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985/1641. Dewey, J. The Middle Works, 1899-1924 Vol 12. Ed. Jo Ann Boydston. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1982. Dewey, J. The Middle Works, 1899-1924 Vol 14. Ed. Jo Ann Boydston. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1983. Frankfurt, H. “On Bullshit.” The Importance of What We Care About. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 1988. Joyce, J. Finnegan’s Wake. Penguin: London, 1999/1939. Peirce, C.S. “Some Consequences of Four Incapacities.” 1868. In The Essential Peirce.———. “The Fixation of Belief.” 1877. In The Essential Peirce. ———. “How to Make Our Ideas Clear.” 1878. In The Essential Peirce. ———. The Essential Peirce: Vol. 1. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992. ———. The Essential Peirce: Vol. 2. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999. Quine, W.V. Theories and Things. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1981. Sextus Empiricus. Outlines of Scepticism. Trans. J. Barnes & J. Annas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. Wittgenstein, L. On Certainty. Oxford: Blackwell, 1969.

The latest reality program about weight loss makeover, Australian Channel Seven’s Bringing Sexy Back maintained the dominant frame of fat as bad, shameful and unsexy. Similar to other programs’ point of view, only slim bodies could claim to be healthy and sexy. Conversely the Fat Acceptance movement presents fat as beautiful, sexy, and healthy. But what did online audiences in 2014 think about Bringing Sexy Back? In this article online-viewer-generated comments are analysed to find out: a) whether audiences challenged and contested the dominant framing; and b) what phrases did they use to do this. The research task is a discourse analysis in which key words and phrases are highlighted and colour coded as categories and patterns begin to emerge. My intention is to represent the expressions of the participants responding to the articles and or online forums about the program. The focus is on the ‘language-in-use’ (Gee 34), in particular their gut reactions to the idea of whether only slim people can be sexy and their experience of viewing the program. Selected television websites, online television forums and blogs will be analysed. Introduction The latest makeover television program drawing on the obesity-epidemic discourse Bringing Sexy Back (BSB) promises the audience that by the end of the program participants will have bought their sexy back. Sexy in the program is equated with one’s younger and slimmer self; the program host Samantha Armytage (from Sunrise the national Australian morning show) tells viewers sexy can be reclaimed if participants (from their late 30s and up to 51 years) drop kilos, commit to a strenuous exercise regime, and re-style their wardrobe. Experts, the usual suspects, are bought in—the medical machinery, the personal trainer, the stylist, and the hairdresser etc.—to assess, admonish, advise and appraise the participants. At the final reveal the audience—made up of family, friends and the local community—show enthusiasm for the aesthetic desirability of the participants slimmer sexier body as evidenced by descriptors such as “wow”, and “oh my God” as well as an outpouring of emotion such as crying and squeals of delight. Previous researchers of fat-shaming television programs have found audience’s reactions divided: some audience members see it as motivating; others see it as humiliating; and others see it as what the contestants deserve (Holland, Blood and Thomas; Rodan, Ellis and Lebeck; Sender and Sullivan)! I want to find out if online and social media audiences of the relatively tame makeover program BSB, which features individual Australians and couples who are overweight and obese, challenge and contest the dominant framing. In my analysis of the phrases online audiences’ have used about BSB, posters mostly found the program inspiring and motivating. From this inauspicious first strike, I will push onto examine the phrases posters have used to respond to the program. The paper begins with a short background about the program. The key elements of the makeover television genre are then discussed. Following this, I provide an analysis of the program’s official BSB Facebook site, and unofficial viewer-generated sites, such as the bubhub, TVTONIGHT, MamaMia, The Hoopla and the hashtag #sexybackau on Twitter. Posters to these sites were regular, infrequent or intermittent viewers. My approach to the analysis of these online forums and social media sites is a discourse analysis that examines “language-in-use”—as well as other elements such as values, symbols, tools and thinking styles—so as to identify and track tacit knowledge—that is, meanings emerging from obesity-epidemic discourse (Gee 34, 40–41). Such a method is apt given its capacity to analyse contributors’ spontaneous statements of their feelings—in particular their gut reactions to the program and the participants. The paper ends with my findings and conclusions. Bringing Sexy Back: Background Information Screened in 2014, season one of BSB format consists of a host Samantha Armytage, fitness trainer Cameron Byrnes and stylist Jules Sebastian and her team of hairdresser, groomers etc. Undoubtedly, part of the program’s construction is to select participants who appeal to a broad range of viewers. Participants’ ages range from 21 years (Courney Gollings) to 51 years (Vicki Gollings). The individuals or couples who make up the series include: Ned (truck driver), Sam and Gary (parents of two boys), Lisa Wilson (single mother and hairdresser), Vicki and Courtney Golling (mother and daughter), Livio Caldarone (pizza/small restaurant owner), and Paula Beckton (mother of four), The first episode was aired on Australia’s Channel Seven on 12 August 2014 and the final episode on 13 January 2015. This particular series consisted of 9 episodes. In this paper I focus on the six episodes that were aired in 2014. Generally each individual episode consisted of: the intervention, presenting medical facts about participant’s weight; the helper figures setting training and diet regimes; the trials leading to transformation; and the happy ending evident in the reveal. Essentially, these segments illustrate that the program series is highly contrived and they also demonstrate the program’s method of challenging participants to lose weight. Makeover Television I now provide a further construct to assist the reader’s understanding of ‘what is going on’ in the BSB program, which fits within the genre of makeover program. As reflected in the literature, makeover television has some or all of the following ingredients: personal fitness trainer as expertstylist and grooming expertsfamily members and contestant’s reflexivity (reflect on their own behaviour)new self-celebrated photo shootscontestant winning challengessymbols, such as the dream outfit, and before and after photographstransformation before the ‘big reveal’ Moreover, makeover programs are about the ordinary person on television. According to Redden, identities on these programs are individual rather than collective in that they serve to show a type of “individuality” as if it exists irrespective of any social or cultural group (156). And what is the role of the expert? Redden points out the expert on makeover programs interprets the “life situation of the given person, who may represent a certain social category of ordinary person” (153). So while makeover programs purport to be about the ordinary person and make claims about the actuality of the ordinary person’s life (Skeggs and Wood 559; Stagi 138), they also depict a hierarchy of social categories. The participants’ class also features in makeover programs like BSB. Class is evident in that participants who are selected to be on the program are often from lower-middle class backgrounds. Most participants have non-professional occupations—truck driver (Ned), hairdresser (Lisa), pizza/small restaurant owner (Livio), body caster, a person who makes body casts (Paula). Similar to The Biggest Loser (2004–2014) on American NBC, and Australia Network Ten, the participants in BSB were also mainly from lower–middle class backgrounds (Rodan; Sender and Sullivan 575) Several researcher’s show that makeover television promises advancement for lower–middle class citizens (Fraser 188–189; Miller 589; Redden 155; Skeggs and Wood 561) based on the proposition that contestants have the power to transform themselves (Bratich 17; Ouellette and Hay 471–472; Lewis 443; Sender and Sullivan 581). Like other makeover programs BSB takes advantage of the aspirations of working and lower-middle class participants. And, not surprisingly, the desired transcendence is something most participants/viewers from lower-middle and working class backgrounds cannot strive to achieve without participating in the program (Miller 589). Transcendence in BSB comes from losing weight, and acquiring new gym equipment, gym clothing, access to a personal trainer, gym membership, holiday at a health retreat, new wardrobe, new haircut, and new gym clothes. These acts to transform oneself are often “presented” as the middle class “standard,” taste and specific ongoing “intimate practices” of the “middle class” (Skeggs and Wood 561; Redden 155). But clearly much of the sprucing up (such as a private gym at home, personal trainers) are expensive and beyond the budget of even an Australian middle-class family. Analysis Posters on the official BSB Channel Seven Facebook forum overall were the most positive about the program—they found the program motivating and inspiring. Several posters on Facebook asked how they might apply to be on the program. After the airing of the reveal, posters on all the online forums and social media analysed consistently used adjectives such as fantastic, awesome, congratulations, stunning, amazing, gorgeous, wow, incredible, look sensational, look hot, look great, champion effort, fabulous, impressive, beautiful, inspirational. Fat-Shaming In BSB fat-shaming works through the use of medical machines and imagery, which measure weight and body fat percentage (BMI) using the DXA scanner and X-ray machine. Even though many physicians object to BMI measurement, it has become an “infallible marker of dangerous risk-saturated obesity” (Morgan 205) in Health Department campaigns, insurance company policies and on makeover television. Participants’ current weight is compared to the weight of their 20 year-old self. The program also induces fat-shaming through visuals of food and drink stashes found in participant’s bedroom cupboards (Ned), remnants of take-away packaging in rubbish bins (Lisa), processed foods in pantry cupboards (Vicki and Courtney), and pizza cartons at work (Livio). Here food amounts are quantified for audiences to gasp with shock and horror reinforcing the stereotype that people are fat because they have insufficient willpower and overeat (Farrell 34), thus perpetuating the view that obese people are undisciplined, sloppy and “less likely to do productive work” (Greenberg et al.). Banners are produced of participants’ photographs in their 20s; the photographs chosen have been taken when participants were slim and looked hot at the beach or night clubbing. These banners are juxtaposed with a banner of participant’s current self—appearing overweight in unflattering short crop top and underwear. Both banners are flashed onto the screen during the program especially in the final reveal presumably as a visual measurement to shame participants for “letting themselves go”. Even though host Samantha provides reasons for participants gaining weight—such as the stress of being a single parent, having a busy life as a mother of four, work commitments etc—the visual banners powerfully signify more than the presenter’s dialogue. Katrina Dowd on Facebook suggests it is the banners that signified the truth about participants’ lifestyles when she comments: Absolutely. Amazing how people whom follow unhealthy eating patterns for years with lack of exercise get congratulated because they’ve lost weight. Should never have let yourself get to that stage. Using your children and work commitments as excuses for why you got that way is a big “fail”. Some social media participants on Twitter and online forum posters saw the participants as “Bogan” ( a white working-class person who lacks fashion sense, is uncouth unsophisticated and invokes disgust), lazy, slobs as represented in the following comments: “Bogan Hunters Makeover” (tvaddict); “STILL A FUCKING FAT BOGAN […] JUST STOP EATING” (Al_Mack); “Stop being a lazy bitch […] Seriously lazy slobs” (Dutchess of Tweet St); “learn to cook lazy cow” (Gidgit VonLaRue). Thus, for Katrina and the posters above, it is the “fat body” that is seen as the “uncivilized body” that lacks the self-control of the thin body (Richardson 80). Inspirational and Motivational I discovered that many online forum and social media participants found the program BSB inspiring and motivating. A similar finding to my study of The Biggest Loser online viewers (Rodan), as well as other researchers who interviewed audiences about The Biggest Loser (Readdy and Ebbeck). For instance, Twitter posters said the BSB inspires “everyday women” (Sharon@Shar0n) and “inspires me that I can do the same” (Sharon@KeepitRealV), “another great show #inspiring” (miss shadow). On Facebook most of the posters talked about how inspired they were by the show and or by the individual participants, for instance: Hi Lisa, I think I see a lot of me in you, I pretty much cried through the whole show. You have inspired me, much admiration for sharing your story with Australia. (Haigh) Many posters on Facebook identified with Lisa as a single mother (Jenkins) and her declaration that she was “an emotional eater” (McTavish). This may account for Lisa Wilson (5,824 likes) receiving the most likes on Facebook. There were those who identified with individual participants, such as Paula, who were attempting to lose weight. On the forum the bubhub, a forum for parents established in 2002, the administrator BH-bubhub started a thread titled “Need some motivation to shift those kilos? Our pal Paula is here to help hubbers!” Paula was the participant on BSB who lost the most weight, and was invited onto the forum to answer forum members’ questions. On this forum, disparaging, negative, demotivating comments were removed from public viewing (see caveat BH-bubhub). Overall, online forum posters on the bubhub expressed positive feelings about BSB as a weight loss program. Participants comments included “Awesome work Paula, I have no doubt you will inspire many and I look forward to hearing all your tips” (Mod-Uniquey) “and … you look fabulous” (BH-KatiesMum), “Wow, you must be so proud of yourself! That is an amazing effort and you look great” (Curby), “What an inspirational story!” (Mod-Nomsie). Facebook posters on the BSB official forum found the show motivating and evidence of others finding the same are: “I feel great after watching #sexybackau” (Freeburn), “an uplifting hour” (Hustwaite), “feeling motivated now to change a lot of things about myself” (McDonald). However, online posters rarely commented that the program inspired or motivated them to take specific actions about their own body size or lifestyle. For some, as other researchers have found about makeover programs, it is a form of televisual escapism (Holland, Blood and Thomas; Readdy and Ebbeck 585)—that is, the pleasure of watching others’ emotions in achieving their goal. For many others, identifying with the participants’ struggle, and seeing them overcome daily challenges and obstacles to losing weight, gave posters insights about themselves and how to change their own lifestyle. But maintaining weight-loss and a lifestyle that supports it—as Facebook posters frequently suggest—is very challenging for most people who are overweight. The transformations and reveals make for fairy-tale endings (the essence of makeover television), but the reality of losing weight is persistence, perseverance and hard work. Criticisms of the Program Posters on Facebook were censored more than some of the other online forums and social media. Facebook criticisms about the program BSB were dealt with swiftly by other posters—that is, posters were pressured to only express positive feelings about the program. For instance, Lynne Nicholas in response to Peter Thomson’s criticism that the program is “exploiting these people for cheap television entertainment” (Facebook, 14 August 2014) posted on Facebook: If you don’t like the show then don’t come on the page and comment. Channel 7 gives these people a chance to change their life and inspire others to do the same. (Facebook, 14 Aug. 2014) And in response to criticisms about the amount of processed food Cam discarded from participants Vicki and Courtney’s cupboard, Emily McCabe commented: If you don’t enjoy the concept of the program, feel free to change the channel and keep your negative comments to yourself. (Facebook, 2 Sep. 2014) Nevertheless, a lot of criticism appeared on the various online and social media outlets ranging from: the commercial aspects (matúš; Hales); the constant use of the word “fat” by the host (Spencer); the sponsorship and advertisements by a take-away food company (Daisy Murray; Patriot); the “irresponsible/unsafe training!” (M_Gardner; Ashton); the insufficient number of “diet tips” (Pedron-Peggs); and “sick of seeing all that food thrown away!!” (Barkla; Dunell; Robbie; Martin; Coupland). As noted above, some of the sites were censored. Criticisms of the program were only aired if the online forum and social media allowed people to vent their feelings and express their opinion. Allowing viewers to express their concerns about mainstream television programs such as BSB counters the argument made by other researchers suggesting that makeover programs do the work of audiences becoming “self-managing” and self-governing citizens (see Stagi; Ouellette and Hay 471-472; Sender and Sullivan 581; Ringrose and Walkerdine); and makeover programs perpetuate the myth that obesity is solely an individual behavioural problem (Yoo). Such critical comments (above) reveal that some viewers do question the show’s premises, and as a consequence they do not accept the dominant framing. Thus the hypothesis that all viewers of makeover programs are pliable and docile cannot be supported in my analysis. Findings and Conclusion Most BSB posters said they found the program inspiring and motivating. It seems many of the online posters identified with the participants’ struggle to lose their weight, and stay motivated to keep it off. So there was little fat-shaming from posters on Facebook and the online forums. The posters on Facebook expressed the most positive comments about the BSB program and the participants; however, the Facebook site was the official BSB social media site. It seems that many of the Facebook and online forum discussants were makeover television fans who had acquired a taste for the makeover genre – that is the transformation and the big reveal at the end, the re-styled self, the symbols as well as the tips, information and ideas about how to lose weight and change their lifestyle. Questions were often asked by posters about the participants’ eating plan, exercise regime, maintenance program etc., as well as how they (the posters) could apply to be on the show. 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Any understanding of social and cultural change is impossible without a knowledge of the way media work as environments. —Marshall McLuhan. What is visible and tangible in things represents our possible action upon them. —Henri Bergson. Introduction: Subjective Maps as ‘Contact Zones’ Maps feature heavily in a variety of media; they appear in textbooks, on television, in print, and on the screens of our handheld devices. The production of cartographic texts is a process that is imbued with power relations and bound up with the production and reproduction of social life (Pinder 405). Mapping involves choices as to what information is and is not included. In their organisation, categorisation, modeling, and representation maps show and they hide. Thus “the idea that a small number of maps or even a single (and singular) map might be sufficient can only apply in a spatialised area of study whose own self-affirmation depends on isolation from its context” (Lefebvre 85–86). These isolations determine the way we interpret the physical, biological, and social worlds. The map can be thought of as a schematic for political systems within a confined set of spatial relations, or as a container for political discourse. Mapping contributes equally to the construction of experiential realities as to the representation of physical space, which also contains the potential to incorporate representations of temporality and rhythm to spatial schemata. Thus maps construct realities as much as they represent them and coproduce space as much as the political identities of people who inhabit them. Maps are active texts and have the ability to promote social change (Pickles 146). It is no wonder, then, that artists, theorists and activists alike readily engage in the conflicted praxis of mapping. This critical engagement “becomes a method to track the past, embody memories, explain the unexplainable” and manifest the latent (Ibarra 66). In this paper I present a short case study of Bangalore: Subjective Cartographies a new media art project that aims to model a citizen driven effort to participate in a critical form of cartography, which challenges dominant representations of the city-space. I present a critical textual analysis of the maps produced in the workshops, the artist statements relating to these works used in the exhibition setting, and statements made by the participants on the project’s blog. This “praxis-logical” approach allows for a focus on the project as a space of aggregation and the communicative processes set in motion within them. In analysing such projects we could (and should) be asking questions about the functions served by the experimental concepts under study—who has put it forward? Who is utilising it and under what circumstances? Where and how has it come into being? How does discourse circulate within it? How do these spaces as sites of emergent forms of resistance within global capitalism challenge traditional social movements? How do they create self-reflexive systems?—as opposed to focusing on ontological and technical aspects of digital mapping (Renzi 73). In de-emphasising the technology of digital cartography and honing in on social relations embedded within the text(s), this study attempts to complement other studies on digital mapping (see Strom) by presenting a case from the field of politically oriented tactical media. Bangalore: Subjective Cartographies has been selected for analysis, in this exploration of media as “zone.” It goes some way to incorporating subjective narratives into spatial texts. This is a three-step process where participants tapped into spatial subjectivities by data collection or environmental sensing led by personal reflection or ethnographic enquiry, documenting and geo-tagging their findings in the map. Finally they engaged an imaginative or ludic process of synthesising their data in ways not inherent within the traditional conventions of cartography, such as the use of sound and distortion to explicate the intensity of invisible phenomena at various coordinates in the city-space. In what follows I address the “zone” theme by suggesting that if we apply McLuhan’s notion of media as environment together with Henri Bergson’s assertion that visibility and tangibility constitutes the potential for action to digital maps, projects such as Bangalore: Subjective Cartographies constitute a “contact zone.” A type of zone where groups come together at the local level and flows of discourse about art, information communication, media, technology, and environment intersect with local histories and cultures within the cartographic text. A “contact zone,” then, is a site where latent subjectivities are manifested and made potentially politically potent. “Contact zones,” however, need not be spaces for the aggrieved or excluded (Renzi 82), as they may well foster the ongoing cumulative politics of the mundane capable of developing into liminal spaces where dominant orders may be perforated. A “contact zone” is also not limitless and it must be made clear that the breaking of cartographic convention, as is the case with the project under study here, need not be viewed as resistances per se. It could equally represent thresholds for public versus private life, the city-as-text and the city-as-social space, or the zone where representations of space and representational spaces interface (Lefebvre 233), and culture flows between the mediated and ideated (Appadurai 33–36). I argue that a project like Bangalore: Subjective Cartographies demonstrates that maps as urban text form said “contact zones,” where not only are media forms such as image, text, sound, and video are juxtaposed in a singular spatial schematic, but narratives of individual and collective subjectivities (which challenge dominant orders of space and time, and city-rhythm) are contested. Such a “contact zone” in turn may not only act as a resource for citizens in the struggle of urban design reform and a democratisation of the facilities it produces, but may also serve as a heuristic device for researchers of new media spatiotemporalities and their social implications. Critical Cartography and Media Tactility Before presenting this brief illustrative study something needs to be said of the context from which Bangalore: Subjective Cartographies has arisen. Although a number of Web 2.0 applications have come into existence since the introduction of Google Maps and map application program interfaces, which generate a great deal of geo-tagged user generated content aimed at reconceptualising the mapped city-space (see historypin for example), few have exhibited great significance for researchers of media and communications from the perspective of building critical theories relating to political potential in mediated spaces. The expression of power through mapping can be understood from two perspectives. The first—attributed largely to the Frankfurt School—seeks to uncover the potential of a society that is repressed by capitalist co-opting of the cultural realm. This perspective sees maps as a potential challenge to, and means of providing emancipation from, existing power structures. The second, less concerned with dispelling false ideologies, deals with the politics of epistemology (Crampton and Krygier 14). According to Foucault, power was not applied from the top down but manifested laterally in a highly diffused manner (Foucault 117; Crampton and Krygier 14). Foucault’s privileging of the spatial and epistemological aspects of power and resistance complements the Frankfurt School’s resistance to oppression in the local. Together the two perspectives orient power relative to spatial and temporal subjectivities, and thus fit congruently into cartographic conventions. In order to make sense of these practices the post-oppositional character of tactical media maps should be located within an economy of power relations where resistance is never outside of the field of forces but rather is its indispensable element (Renzi 72). Such exercises in critical cartography are strongly informed by the critical politico-aesthetic praxis of political/art collective The Situationist International, whose maps of Paris were inherently political. The Situationist International incorporated appropriated texts into, and manipulated, existing maps to explicate city-rhythms and intensities to construct imaginative and alternate representations of the city. Bangalore: Subjective Cartographies adopts a similar approach. The artists’ statement reads: We build our subjective maps by combining different methods: photography, film, and sound recording; […] to explore the visible and invisible […] city; […] we adopt psycho-geographical approaches in exploring territory, defined as the study of the precise effects of the geographical environment, consciously developed or not, acting directly on the emotional behaviour of individuals. The project proposals put forth by workshop participants also draw heavily from the Situationists’s A New Theatre of Operations for Culture. A number of Situationist theories and practices feature in the rationale for the maps created in the Bangalore Subjective Cartographies workshop. For example, the Situationists took as their base a general notion of experimental behaviour and permanent play where rationality was approached on the basis of whether or not something interesting could be created out of it (Wark 12). The dérive is the rapid passage through various ambiences with a playful-constructive awareness of the psychographic contours of a specific section of space-time (Debord). The dérive can be thought of as an exploration of an environment without preconceptions about the contours of its geography, but rather a focus on the reality of inhabiting a place. Détournement involves the re-use of elements from recognised media to create a new work with meaning often opposed to the original. Psycho-geography is taken to be the subjective ambiences of particular spaces and times. The principles of détournement and psycho-geography imply a unitary urbanism, which hints at the potential of achieving in environments what may be achieved in media with détournement. Bangalore: Subjective Cartographies carries Situationist praxis forward by attempting to exploit certain properties of information digitalisation to formulate textual representations of unitary urbanism. Bangalore: Subjective Cartographies is demonstrative of a certain media tactility that exists more generally across digital-networked media ecologies and channels this to political ends. This tactility of media is best understood through textual properties awarded by the process and logic of digitalisation described in Lev Manovich’s Language of New Media. These properties are: numerical representation in the form of binary code, which allows for the reification of spatial data in a uniform format that can be stored and retrieved in-silico as opposed to in-situ; manipulation of this code by the use of algorithms, which renders the scales and lines of maps open to alteration; modularity that enables incorporation of other textual objects into the map whilst maintaining each incorporated item’s individual identity; the removal to some degree of human interaction in terms of the translation of environmental data into cartographic form (whilst other properties listed here enable human interaction with the cartographic text), and the nature of digital code allows for changes to accumulate incrementally creating infinite potential for refinements (Manovich 49–63). The Subjective Mapping of Bangalore Bangalore is an interesting site for such a project given the recent and rapid evolution of its media infrastructure. As a “media city,” the first television sets appeared in Bangalore at some point in the early 1980s. The first Internet Service Provider (ISP), which served corporate clients only, commenced operating a decade later and then offered dial-up services to domestic clients in the mid-1990s. At present, however, Bangalore has the largest number of broadband Internet connections in India. With the increasing convergence of computing and telecommunications with traditional forms of media such as film and photography, Bangalore demonstrates well what Scott McQuire terms a media-architecture complex, the core infrastructure for “contact zones” (vii). Bangalore: Subjective Cartographies was a workshop initiated by French artists Benjamin Cadon and Ewen Cardonnet. It was conducted with a number of students at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in November and December 2009. Using Metamap.fr (an online cartographic tool that makes it possible to add multimedia content such as texts, video, photos, sounds, links, location points, and paths to digital maps) students were asked to, in groups of two or three, collect and consult data on ‘felt’ life in Bangalore using an ethnographic, transverse geographic, thematic, or temporal approach. The objective of the project was to model a citizen driven effort to subvert dominant cartographic representations of the city. In doing so, the project and this paper posits that there is potential for such methods to be adopted to form new literacies of cartographic media and to render the cartographic imaginary politically potent. The participants’ brief outlined two themes. The first was the visible and symbolic city where participants were asked to investigate the influence of the urban environment on the behaviours and sensations of its inhabitants, and to research and collect signifiers of traditional and modern worlds. The invisible city brief asked participants to consider the latent environment and link it to human behaviour—in this case electromagnetic radiation linked to the cities telecommunications and media infrastructure was to be specifically investigated. The Visible and Symbolic City During British rule many Indian cities functioned as dual entities where flow of people and commodities circulated between localised enclaves and the centralised British-built areas. Mirroring this was the dual mode of administration where power was shared between elected Indian legislators and appointed British officials (Hoselitz 432–33). Reflecting on this diarchy leads naturally to questions about the politics of civic services such as the water supply, modes of public communication and instruction, and the nature of the city’s administration, distribution, and manufacturing functions. Workshop participants approached these issues in a variety of ways. In the subjective maps entitled Microbial Streets and Water Use and Reuse, food and water sources of street vendors are traced with the aim to map water supply sources relative to the movements of street vendors operating in the city. Images of the microorganisms are captured using hacked webcams as makeshift microscopes. The data was then converted to audio using Pure Data—a real-time graphical programming environment for the processing audio, video and graphical data. The intention of Microbial Streets is to demonstrate how mapping technologies could be used to investigate the flows of food and water from source to consumer, and uncover some of the latencies involved in things consumed unhesitatingly everyday. Typographical Lens surveys Russell Market, an older part of the city through an exploration of the aesthetic and informational transformation of the city’s shop and street signage. In Ethni City, Avenue Road is mapped from the perspective of local goldsmiths who inhabit the area. Both these maps attempt to study the convergence of the city’s dual function and how the relationship between merchants and their customers has changed during the transition from localised enclaves, catering to the sale of particular types of goods, to the development of shopping precincts, where a variety of goods and services can be sought. Two of the project’s maps take a spatiotemporal-archivist approach to the city. Bangalore 8mm 1940s uses archival Super 8 footage and places digitised copies on the map at the corresponding locations of where they were originally filmed. The film sequences, when combined with satellite or street-view images, allow for the juxtaposition of present day visions of the city with those of the 1940s pre-partition era. Chronicles of Collection focuses on the relationship between people and their possessions from the point of view of the object and its pathways through the city in space and time. Collectors were chosen for this map as the value they placed on the object goes beyond the functional and the monetary, which allowed the resultant maps to access and express spatially the layers of meaning a particular object may take on in differing contexts of place and time in the city-space. The Invisible City In the expression of power through city-spaces, and by extension city-texts, certain circuits and flows are ossified and others rendered latent. Raymond Williams in Politics and Letters writes: however dominant a social system may be, the very meaning of its domination involves a limitation or selection of the activities it covers, so that by definition it cannot exhaust all social experience, which therefore always potentially contains space for alternative acts and alternative intentions which are not yet articulated as a social institution or even project. (252) The artists’ statement puts forward this possible response, an exploration of the latent aesthetics of the city-space: In this sense then, each device that enriches our perception for possible action on the real is worthy of attention. Even if it means the use of subjective methods, that may not be considered ‘evidence’. However, we must admit that any subjective investigation, when used systematically and in parallel with the results of technical measures, could lead to new possibilities of knowledge. Electromagnetic City maps the city’s sources of electromagnetic radiation, primarily from mobile phone towers, but also as a by-product of our everyday use of technologies, televisions, mobile phones, Internet Wi-Fi computer screens, and handheld devices. This map explores issues around how the city’s inhabitants hear, see, feel, and represent things that are a part of our environment but invisible, and asks: are there ways that the intangible can be oriented spatially? The intensity of electromagnetic radiation being emitted from these sources, which are thought to negatively influence the meditation of ancient sadhus (sages) also features in this map. This data was collected by taking electromagnetic flow meters into the suburb of Yelhanka (which is also of interest because it houses the largest milk dairy in the state of Karnataka) in a Situationist-like derive and then incorporated back into Metamap. Signal to Noise looks at the struggle between residents concerned with the placement of mobile phone towers around the city. It does so from the perspectives of people who seek information about their placement concerned about mobile phone signal quality, and others concerned about the proximity of this infrastructure to their homes due to to potential negative health effects. Interview footage was taken (using a mobile phone) and manipulated using Pure Data to distort the visual and audio quality of the footage in proportion to the fidelity of the mobile phone signal in the geographic area where the footage was taken. Conclusion The “contact zone” operating in Bangalore: Subjective Cartographies, and the underlying modes of social enquiry that make it valuable, creates potential for the contestation of new forms of polity that may in turn influence urban administration and result in more representative facilities of, and for, city-spaces and their citizenry. Robert Hassan argues that: This project would mean using tactical media to produce new spaces and temporalities that are explicitly concerned with working against the unsustainable “acceleration of just about everything” that our present neoliberal configuration of the network society has generated, showing that alternatives are possible and workable—in ones job, home life, family life, showing that digital [spaces and] temporality need not mean the unerring or unbending meter of real-time [and real city-space] but that an infinite number of temporalities [and subjectivities of space-time] can exist within the network society to correspond with a diversity of local and contextual cultures, societies and polities. (174) As maps and locative motifs begin to feature more prominently in media, analyses such as the one discussed in this paper may allow for researchers to develop theoretical approaches to studying newer forms of media. References Appadurai, Arjun. 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