The
International Journal of Urban Labour and Leisure
Issue 2
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Editorial
Hello and welcome to the second edition of
The International Journal of Urban Labour and Leisure.
In this issue Beccy Watson takes a look at the relationship between paid and unpaid work
and the influences this has on mothering responsibilities, and the leisure and consumption
patterns of a group of 'young' mothers living in Leeds.
In a spearate paper Wilkes and
Coates question the validity of asking students to undetake projects when
post-modernity argues that such projects are meaningless as they try to trap reality in a
jar when all aspects of society are negotiable. |
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The city and its uses is examined
next by Paola Arrigoni. The aim of her work is to demonstrate the existence and to
understand the functioning of an economical and Marshallian district of leisure placed in
a particular historical area of Milan: the Navigli (leonardian canals). Studying the
elements which give success and leisure appeal to this "Concentration of specialised
industries in particular places " (according to Alfred Marshall's definition of
industrial district) as well as its weakness and limits (principally environmental and
social impact and loss of innovative capacity), the research aims to enlighten the
economical, urban and cultural weight of the leisure district.
Nina Robinson examines the extent to which young girls pay attention to the magazines they
read. The study uses textual analysis. Although a number of studies employing textual
analysis have been conducted on women's and girls' magazines, there are few studies which
examine what women and girls actually have to say about their experiences of reading
magazines. Based on twelve semi-structured interviews with 13 to 15 year old girls from
two schools, the study aims to explore the ways in which girls use and interpret magazines
and hence what makes them worth reading. Drawing upon a 'dominant audience' perspective
(Abercrombie 1996) which recognises the 'polysemic' nature of texts and the heterogeneity
of audiences, the study uncovers the different repertoires girls use to talk about
magazines.