Academics from the Department of Marketing were successful in presenting their work around contemporary notions of consumption at the premier international conference for consumer research last month (October).
The Advances in Consumer Research Conference with the theme of 'Building Connections' was held in the Hyatt Regency Seattle, USA. Dr Kathy Hamilton and doctoral student Leighanne Higgins presented work on 'Is the Crucifix Sacred? Exploring the Catholic Consumption of Sacred Vessels in Building Connection with the Sacred' contributed towards sacred consumption theories.
Such a focus was further explored through the work of Dr Aliakbar Jafari's co-authored paper entitled: 'The Sacred and the Profane in Islamic Consumption' which examined the concept of material consumption culture in the Muslim world.
In addition, Mr Babak Taheri and Dr Jafari's paper 'Socialising through Cultural Consumption' emphasised the societal dimension of museums as socio-cultural institutions that foster social bonds among different members of contemporary society.
And finally, Dr Paul Hewer's co-authored paper with Dr Tim Stone (Aberdeen University) and Professor Douglas Brownlie (Stirling University) sought to explore 'Movement, Knowledge and Consumption within Elderly Care Environments' to unpack how identities are forged through co-constituted marketplace resources in such contexts.