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- Neuman, Nicklas, 1987-, et al.
(author)
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Exploring (non‐)meat eating and 'translated cuisines' out of home : Evidence from three English cities
- 2020
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In: International Journal of Consumer Studies. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1470-6423 .- 1470-6431. ; 44:1, s. 25-32
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Meat production and consumption are major contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions and other aspects of environmental degradation. It is the aim of this paper to explore meat in the configuration of main meals eaten out in England across types and styles of cuisine, and to consider the implications for transition towards less resource intensive ways of eating in the future. We show that the odds ratio of eating a dish without red meat is significantly lower in North American/European and Near/Middle Eastern cuisines compared to East Asian (with no difference between South and East Asian), that women are more likely than men to eat fish and poultry (with no gender differences in vegetarian dishes), that Prestonians are the least likely to select a vegetarian dish, compared to people in London and Bristol, and that the odds of a vegetarian dish compared to red meat is higher among higher managerial workers compared to the routine manual workers (with no other statistically significant class differences). We suggest the term ‘translated cuisine’ to refer to cuisines that travel and become incorporated into the palate of the new food culture, and discuss how this could play a role in transitions toward less meat-centered patterns of food consumption in the future.
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2. |
- Neuman, Nicklas, 1987-
(author)
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Foodwork as the new fathering? : Change and stability in men's housework
- 2020
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In: Culture Unbound. - : Linköping University Electronic Press. - 2000-1525. ; 12:3, s. 527-549
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this paper is to explore the parallels of fathering and foodwork among men in Sweden. The research question is: can foodwork be seen as “the new fathering”? The paper outlines the narrative of fathers in Sweden and gender progressiveness, and discusses gendered foodwork in Sweden up until the mid-1990s. Subsequently, statistical evidence from Statistics Sweden’s three time-use studies is presented, complemented with evidence from quantitative studies about the gendered division of housework. Here, the data demonstrates change over time in men’s and women’s total housework, foodwork and childcare. Men are doing more and women less, although the absolute changes are greater among women who still do more. Such evidence is further discussed in relation to socio-demographics, household composition and paid work, pointing to the relevance of factors such as gender-egalitarian attitudes and having children. The quantitative section is then followed by an argumentation about cultural shifts in relation to qualitative studies on men’s domestic foodwork. In the discussion it is concluded that foodwork can indeed be seen as “the new fathering”. Not as a substitution for fathering or as something exclusive for fathers, but as an addition to the repertoire of cultural understandings and social expectations of a “modern” man in Sweden. However, the most substantial change is likely to be cultural—on the level of ideals—while statistics on behaviour mostly support slow and minor changes, with the overall social relation of men and women demonstrating significant stability.
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4. |
- Scander, Henrik, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Acquiring competence : Sommeliers on ‘good’ food and beverage combinations
- 2020
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In: International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science. - : Elsevier. - 1878-450X .- 1878-4518. ; 20
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Research on food and beverage combinations is dominated by the sensory sciences, where sensory taste is seen as objective and quantifiable. Knowing which beverages and foods to serve together to attain optimal sensory quality is a core competence of sommeliers. Still, little is known about how this competence is actually acquired. Furthermore, scholars of cultural sociology suggest that cultural aspects of taste as “good” or “bad” are products of social processes, rather than objective characteristics.This paper explores the development of professional competence of food and beverage combinations, by focusing on sommeliers in Sweden. The study is based on qualitative focus group interviews of sommeliers (n = 21) in Sweden, with different levels and types of work experience.A thematic analysis of the data demonstrated that sommeliers talk about “good” combinations as a matter of delicate and refined taste, acquired through long-term practical engagement with wine and food. Foods deemed “unrefined” were expressed as becoming legitimate as cultural capital when combined with the right beverage, for example by revaluating “lowbrow” food when combining it with wine. Competence and taste were also expressed as being acquired through relationships with important people – a network of actors who open doors to legitimate competence. In theoretical terms: social capital is converted into cultural capital – a resource of value in their everyday engagement with customers. The agency of the individual sommelier was also found to be important, as socialisation into the sommelier profession also requires sociability, creativity and a will to experiment and try new and sometimes odd combinations.This paper contributes to the understanding of sensory and sociocultural taste, as well as the development of sommeliers’ social and cultural capital while performing their profession.
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5. |
- Neuman, Nicklas, 1987-
(author)
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- 2020
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In: Sociological Research Online. - : Sage Publications. - 1360-7804. ; 25:4, s. 609-625
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The aim of this article is to explore the regulation of social conventions (more or less arbitrary norms of how one ought to act that are based on joint commitments) in online interaction. As the empirical case, the article scrutinises discussions about what it means to exercise vegetarianism or veganism. Drawing on ‘naturally occurring’ data from the question-and-answer platform Yahoo! Answers, conventions of vegetarianism and veganism are argued to be protected and upheld through symbolic boundaries, primarily in three forms: incompatibility, inauthenticity and noncommitment. Moreover, by utilising the platform’s system of thumbs-up and thumbs-down, it is argued that we are provided evidence of social approvals and sanctions in real time. The findings are suggested to have implications for continued theorising on conventions, studies of boundaries in the social sciences and analyses of social media as an arena for re-orientations of established sociological problems.
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