Browsing by Subject "Japan"
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An Ethnography of a Juried Ceramic Art Exhibition in JapanMoeran, Brian (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This article discusses the social processes among members of a panel of jurors required to award a major prize to one of the submissions to a national ceramics exhibition in Japan. Uniquely based on participant observation-style fieldwork, the article details the voting procedures and (inconclusive) results, before analysing why one particular potter’s submission was selected for the Princess Chichibu Cup. It shows how social relations, rather than aesthetic taste, influenced the final choice, since jury members operated according to an informal pecking order that depended on pre-existing networks and reputations, themselves determined by seniority and age. The fact that judges did not overtly resort to aesthetic criteria when making their evaluations meant that they considered each submission in relation to other submissions, rather than on their own particular merits. They thus ended up comparing ‘incommensurate flaws’, rather than making a selection according to agreed ‘merit’. And yet ‘meritocratic principles’ seem to prevail in the longer term cumulative recognition of potters who are awarded prizes at such exhibitions. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8510 Files in this item: 1
Brian_Moeran_2012.pdf (266.7Kb) -
A Case Study of the Laundry Detergent Market in JapanFujiwara, Masatoshi (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This paper aims to describe how a commercially successful innovation occurs with the altering of the existing competitive structure in a market under environmental and competitive pressures. I study the history of the laundry detergent market in Japan and elucidate the manner in which Kao accomplished an innovation and increased their market share during the late 1980s. Kao introduced their new detergent Attack through a biotechnological innovation and dramatically changed the competitive structure to their advantage. The innovations introduced were of two kinds 1) fermentation engineering technologies to improve the cleaning performance of detergents by using alkaline cellulase, and 2) concentration of detergents to four times their earlier strength through changes in their powder processing technologies. This historical innovation that occurred in the laundry detergent market in Japan has a contemporary implication because combining firms’ activities and environmental sustainability has been one of the most crucial topics over recent years. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8440 Files in this item: 1
Masatoshi_Fujiwara_CDP_2011-37.pdf (268.8Kb)
Now showing items 1-2 of 2