scholarly journals Decolonizing the Shopping Mall: A Reading of Spaces within the United Arab Emirates

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salem AlSuwaidi ◽  
Felipe Botelho Correa
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Shopping Mall ◽  
Cultural Hegemony ◽  
Shopping Malls ◽  
Social Production ◽  
Western Influence ◽  
The Social ◽  
Global Affairs ◽  
The Individual

Does it make sense to speak of a ‘reading’ of space? If so, what implication does that have on our experience of said space once a reading is complete and to what extent would this reading hinder or strengthen the individual or community? A reading of space has become a crucial tool in global affairs and multinational internet culture. Such a tool would allow for critiquing and dissecting unidentifiable power relations within spaces then redirecting the social production of identity and hegemony. One such discourse can be of Western cultural hegemony. This paper will begin by defining the theoretical framework that will then be used to illustrate and analyze a given space. The space chosen will be shopping malls in the United Arab Emirates, specifically their food courts and restaurants, as this nation is situated geographically in a non-Western region. A Content Analysis of the websites of the malls selected in the capital, Abu Dhabi, will illustrate the physical literal construction of this space. An analysis of these theories and illustrations about the space will aid in a debate on shopping mall restaurants' implications on identity and Western cultural hegemony. It will be concluded that a reading of space is a crucial tool to demystify the reality of Western influence on Eastern social and cultural development, ultimately critiquing the production of such spaces in order to decolonize the region.

The importance of distance and attraction in patronizing a shopping mall

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marsela Thanasi-Boçe ◽  
Piotr Kwiatek ◽  
Lasha Labadze
Keyword(s):  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Shopping Mall ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
Shopping Malls ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Level

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to establish mall attractiveness factors in Kuwait, examine the relationship between mall dimensions and mall patronage and explore the impact of mall size and distance on mall patronage. Design/methodology/approach Data from 190 shopping mall visitors were analyzed using Stata software. Factor analysis was used to identify the mall attraction factors, and regression models were run to analyze their relationships with people’s frequency of visits to shopping malls and the amount of time spent per visit. Findings The results unearth five important factors, namely, performance of buying, entertainment, social activities, physical atmosphere and location. Analysis reveals that the performance of buying and social activities factors had a significant impact on the frequency of visits, while the amount of time spent per visit was significantly affected only by the social activities factor. Furthermore, mall size is more important than distance to the mall. Finally, gender differences in shoppers’ mall preferences and behaviors were reported. Practical implications On the practical level, shopping mall developers and managers can use the attraction scale to develop attractive malls and effective marketing strategies. Researchers can use findings to confirm the factors extracted in the study and for further research on the topic. Originality/value This study extends theories on consumers’ preferences and behaviors. It provides empirical evidence about the impact of attractive mall dimensions on shoppers’ patronage in Kuwait, an understudied context.

scholarly journals Marxist psychology: a research paradigm whose time has come

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Elhammoumi
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Substantial Contribution ◽  
Social Production ◽  
Historical Perspectives ◽  
The Social ◽  
Creative Force ◽  
Psychological Functions ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Stock Of Knowledge

This paper seeks to retrieve Marx's ideas about the development of psychology. It offers historical perspectives on different attempts to create a Marxist psychology that shed light on its scope and trajectory. According to Marx, concrete social and material real life play a key role in the development of human psychological functions. Later, Vygotsky, Wallon, Politzer, Leontiev, Luria, Sève among others built on Marx's ideas. These psychologists suggested that individual psychological functions are formed and shaped in concrete, cultural, social, historical circumstances, and pictured an organizing, creative force driving individual activity (instead of behavior). Marxist psychology is the study of the social individual within social relations of production. In a Marxist sense, the emphasis is placed on production, both material and social as the essence of social relations. Hence, psychology cannot be dealt with in an abstract, private and individual manner as the capitalist mode of production would want, but must be seen in terms of the social individual that is formed, structured, and shaped within the social relations of a production framework. In this context, the social production of the individual (as developed in Marx's Die Grundrisse) signifies social relations between people connected with concrete common real social conditions and material production. Production, both social and material, is the totality of social relations. In the process of production, social individuals act not only upon nature but also upon one another, they enter into a definite rich web of connections and relations to one another. Marx's writings encompassed the fields of psychology and made a substantial contribution to the stock of knowledge about human nature processes. Marx never wrote a full-length treatise on psychology, though his own work is the outstanding example of psychological conceptualizations. This paper stresses the decisive relevance of Marx's psychological conceptions for a paradigm shift whose time has come.

scholarly journals SYSTEM OF STATE SOCIAL INSURANCE: EXPERIENCE OF UKRAINE AND GERMANY

2018 ◽  
pp. 67-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svitlana KOVAL
Keyword(s):  
Social Insurance ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Medical Insurance ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Production ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Social Risks ◽  
State Health Insurance ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual

Introduction. Social protection of the population is one of the state functions The implementation of a socially oriented state policy involves solving the problems of social protection and is aimed at creating the proper conditions for a decent standard of living and free development of the individual. The emergence and functioning of social insurance is conditioned by the presence of various social risks and the need to retain citizens who can not take an active part in the process of social production. Purpose. The purpose of the article is to study the practical principles of the functioning of the system of state social insurance of Ukraine and Germany and to develop, on this basis, practical recommendations aimed at improving the social insurance of Ukraine in the context of the borrowing of progressive experience in Germany. Results. Approaches to the treatment of social insurance are considered: as a system of economic relations, as an element of the social policy of the state, as a component of social protection of the population. A comparative analysis of forms of social insurance and sources of financing payments in Ukraine and Germany has been carried out. The practical aspects of functioning of compulsory medical insurance in Germany are investigated, its positive features are revealed. Conclusion. It is revealed that the forms and sources of state social insurance of Ukraine and Germany are similar. The exception is the state health insurance, which in Ukraine is in the stage of implementation. The necessity to restore the payment of a single social contribution by hired workers in the conditions of a shortage of financial resources in the sphere of social insurance of Ukraine is substantiated. It is proposed to apply in the domestic practice the mechanism of functioning of the state medical insurance of Germany, which excludes the possibility of abuses by medical workers in the context of the appointment of unnecessary medical examinations and procedures.

Soziologische Gerechtigkeitsanalyse. Überlegungen zur theoretischen Fundierung eines Forschungsfeldes

2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Liebig ◽  
Carsten Sauer
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Theoretical Foundation ◽  
Social Production ◽  
Justice Research ◽  
Goal Framing ◽  
The People ◽  
The Social ◽  
Principle Of Justice ◽  
Individual Justice ◽  
The Individual

AbstractDuring the last years the focus of sociological justice research has been on the measurement of justice attitudes of the people outside the laboratory via large scale and internationally comparative surveys. Within these surveys one attempt has been to identify the social determinants and the consequences of individual justice attitudes. However, the theoretical foundation of this research within exiting sociological theories and concepts has been neglected. Therefore, the sociological justice research is so far not able to provide theoretically sound answers to at least two questions: (1) why do people think justice is important, and (2) what are the reasons for substantively different justice attitudes? By using the theory of social production functions and the goal-framing theory this contribution tries to overcome this shortcoming and suggests an explanation why justice is seen as a desirable goal and why norms of justice are in the very own interest of the individual. Assumptions are derived under which conditions individuals declare themselves in favor of a specific principle of justice to solve conflicts of allocation and distribution. The aim of this paper is to derive theoretically substantive and empirically testable predictions based on a general theory of action and thus to contribute to a stronger theoretical foundation of sociological justice research.

scholarly journals THE EFFECT OF SEATING ELEMENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FOR SOCIAL DISTANCE ON THE SHOPPING MALL PREFERENCES OF CUSTOMERS IN THE POST-PANDEMİC PROCESS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ebru Okuyucu
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Digital Images ◽  
Likert Scale ◽  
Solid Wood ◽  
Shopping Mall ◽  
Shopping Malls ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The Social ◽  
Positive Effect

<p>The aim of this study is to determine the effect of using the wood seating elements designed for social distance in the waiting areas of shopping malls in the post-pandemic process on customers in shopping mall preferences.<b> </b>In research, it was assumed that there is a relationship between shopping malls with wood seating elements designed for social distance and the shopping mall preferences of customers. In a virtual environment, to test this hypothesis based on digital images of the social distancing wood seating element modeled with the Top Solid Wood program, a hypothetical study based on a questionnaire was performed. In this study, the questionnaire, prepared according to the 7-point Likert scale, was applied to 300 participants.<b> </b>The results were showed that shopping malls with wood seating elements designed for social distance in the post-pandemic process have a positive effect on the shopping mall preferences of the participants. </p>

scholarly journals THE EFFECT OF SEATING ELEMENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FOR SOCIAL DISTANCE ON THE SHOPPING MALL PREFERENCES OF CUSTOMERS IN THE POST-PANDEMİC PROCESS

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Ebru Okuyucu
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environment ◽  
Social Distance ◽  
Digital Images ◽  
Likert Scale ◽  
Solid Wood ◽  
Shopping Mall ◽  
Shopping Malls ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The Social ◽  
Positive Effect

<p>The aim of this study is to determine the effect of using the wood seating elements designed for social distance in the waiting areas of shopping malls in the post-pandemic process on customers in shopping mall preferences.<b> </b>In research, it was assumed that there is a relationship between shopping malls with wood seating elements designed for social distance and the shopping mall preferences of customers. In a virtual environment, to test this hypothesis based on digital images of the social distancing wood seating element modeled with the Top Solid Wood program, a hypothetical study based on a questionnaire was performed. In this study, the questionnaire, prepared according to the 7-point Likert scale, was applied to 300 participants.<b> </b>The results were showed that shopping malls with wood seating elements designed for social distance in the post-pandemic process have a positive effect on the shopping mall preferences of the participants. </p>

scholarly journals The Phenomena of “Psychological Well-Being” in the Context of the Social Situation of Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 9-21
Author(s):  
I.V. Dubrovina
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Health ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Main Condition ◽  
Training And Education ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
The Individual

In the article, the phenomena of “psychological well-being of the individual” is considered in the con-text of the cultural-historical theory of L.S. Vygotsky, in particular, the statement he developed on the “social situation of development”, which is based on the child’s experience of his environment and himself in this environment. Attention is drawn to the complexity and ambiguity of the very concept of “well-being” from the standpoint of the cultural development of the individual, to the motives and emotions that determine the emergence and nature of the feeling of satisfaction with oneself, one’s actions and one’s life. The assumption is discussed that psychological well-being can be understood as an indicator of the psychological health of a person, which is one of the most important states of a person and is associated with the moral development of a person. It is shown that the main condition for the “emergence” of a feeling of psychological well-being and its orientation lies in the interaction of the phenomena of “culture” and “education” and the deep mutual enrichment of the processes of training and education based on the integration of rational and emotional cognition of the world by a growing person at each stage of ontogenesis.

scholarly journals Towards a “Mall-Less” Suburb

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Wong
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Shopping Mall ◽  
Shopping Malls ◽  
Surrounding Area ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Private Space ◽  
Balanced Growth ◽  
Suburban Communities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Private Spaces

The creation of suburbs has led to segregated functional spaces that once helped nourish their growth, including the shopping mall. However, as the shopping phenomenon evolves, it is crucial to reexamine this building type to accommodate changing needs and their effect on the surrounding area. Shopping malls have been important contributors to social life and through transformation, street and square life can be recreated for suburban communities. This thesis explores the formation of a square within a mixeduse neighbourhood that intertwines public and private spaces to create opportunities for social connectivity. This enhances the existing community and strengthens the relational benefits between public and private realms, and strives to establish a balanced growth. Architecture mediates public and private spaces, and redefines boundaries so that underutilized private space can be optimized and reintegrated into the suburban environment, reestablishing the social life in the suburbs.

scholarly journals Meaningless vs. Worthwhile Encounters?: Sustaining Social Interactions in Privatized Public Spaces of Manila Shopping Malls

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4-3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rowena Capulong Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Public Spaces ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Shopping Mall ◽  
Social Activities ◽  
Shopping Malls ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
Security Officers ◽  
Spatial Practice ◽  
The Social

Privatized public spaces like modern shopping malls apply various spatial regulations to its mall goers that ultimately, according to scholars of critical tradition, undermines the “social” in socialization during human interactions. This recurring idea is prevalent and proven in a number of developed countries while, on the other hand, research on the same outcome in developing countries such as the Philippines is lacking. Based on local experiences, there is an  indication of the possibility of an active associational life within the regulated spaces of the Philippine private shopping mall. This paper tries to  determine the circumstances under which spatial governmentality sustains social interaction.   Using Robert Yin’s case study method, it  delves into the spatial practice of mall users in three shopping malls in the city of Manila. Data are gathered from field observations and interviews with the managers and security officers of the three malls. Purposive mall users can evade the disciplinary, deterrence, and exclusionary techniques of the shopping mall and thus pursue their own social activities and interests in the presence of three  facilitators: persons, locales and occasions.  The cases involved in this study reveal that efforts to control social activities in mall premises can also generate unintended outcomes, that is, activate social activities. 

The Icon Project

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Sklair
Keyword(s):  
Global Capitalism ◽  
Shopping Malls ◽  
Social Production ◽  
Monumental Architecture ◽  
Quarter Century ◽  
The Past ◽  
Private Interests ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Capitalist Control

In the last quarter century, a new form of iconic architecture has appeared throughout the world's major cities. Typically designed by globe-trotting "starchitects" or by a few large transnational architectural firms, these projects are almost always funded by the private sector in the service of private interests. Whereas in the past monumental architecture often had a strong public component, the urban ziggurats of today are emblems and conduits of capitalist globalization. In The Icon Project, Leslie Sklair focuses on ways in which capitalist globalization is produced and represented all over the world, especially in globalizing cities. Sklair traces how the iconic buildings of our era-elaborate shopping malls, spectacular museums, and vast urban megaprojects--constitute the triumphal "Icon Project" of contemporary global capitalism, promoting increasing inequality and hyperconsumerism. Two of the most significant strains of iconic architecture--unique icons recognized as works of art, designed by the likes of Gehry, Foster, Koolhaas, and Hadid, as well as successful, derivative icons that copy elements of the starchitects' work--speak to the centrality of hyperconsumerism within contemporary capitalism. Along with explaining how the architecture industry organizes the social production and marketing of iconic structures, he also shows how corporations increasingly dominate the built environment and promote the trend towards globalizing, consumerist cities. The Icon Project, Sklair argues, is a weapon in the struggle to solidify capitalist hegemony as well as reinforce transnational capitalist control of where we live, what we consume, and how we think.

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