In this article, we examine John Updike's short story "A&P" and its depiction of the grocery store as a curricular space re/presenting consumption and resistance to it. We position Updike's fictional A&P as a space where the "big curriculum" (Schubert, 2006a) of consumption is enacted in everyday life and explore both how the curriculum of…

Ten years ago, stories like "B&N: The New College Library" (LJ 2/1/98) and "What If You Ran Your Library Like a Bookstore?" (American Libraries, 3/98) kicked up a controversy about the viability of libraries. Ironically, these days it's the book business that has an aura of crisis and gloom, while visits to libraries are surging. Over two billion…

In this paper I suggest that social dances and local markets are examples of resilient practices of place-making and community that involve active participation. These two activities create mobile and pliant communities of participants that involve considerable informal and incidental learning. With dances and markets in mind, I look at the two…

A walk down Main Street can be very much like a stroll through a museum gallery--visually rich, inviting unexpected choices, aesthetically rewarding. This article explores the concept of shop windows as visually ordered compositions, much like paintings and other art objects, and suggests some approaches to applying this concept in teaching a…

Describes the Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) effort to develop productivity measures for an increasing number of service industries. Discusses problems of measuring productivity and explains how BLS is working to overcome those problems. (JOW)

Recounts the activities that a number of bookstores have sponsored in order to generate children's interest in books, such as making valentines in February, having Santa Claus pay a visit in December, and having children tape record their favorite stories so that blind children can listen to them. (DF)

It is argued tha alternate pricing methods for college textbooks--including net pricing, net billing, and single copy order pricing--would be detrimental to college bookstores. Publishers are urged to continue with the traditional method, and other publisher practices that could help bookstore managers are suggested. (JMD)

The increase in the number of leased college stores is discussed. When the worlds of the non-profit institution and the retail store collide, even the most talented institutional managers can be crushed in the middle. Some think that mini-malls, rather than leased bookstores, will be the trend. (MLW)

Notes that microcomputer use in Hong Kong's small business community does not reflect the growth of its high-tech electronics industry and discusses IBM's influence in Hong Kong and Asia, the counterfeiting of Apple microcomputers and software, and why Apple currently has no recourse. (MBR)

Vendors often use product demonstrations as a means of enticing students to purchase their merchandise. Officials at the State University of New York at Cortland objected when a student hosted in her dormitory room a demonstration conducted by a salesperson representing American Future Systems, Inc. The resulting litigation is discussed.…

Discusses the market for computer-based training (CBT) programs, the distribution and marketing of these programs, why CBT is different from other training products for corporate customers, evaluating CBT programs, the competition between CBT and video, and corporations wanting customized training programs. (CT)

Homevideo is the most important innovation to enter the entertainment industry since the mass adoption of television nearly 40 years ago. It has revolutionized the movie studios, contributed to the crisis besetting the broadcast television networks, and changed the way Americans are entertained. Homevideo is the only private-sector mass rental…

Tomorrow's marketplace will undergo many changes, triggered by new technologies, new products to sell, and the demands of increasingly sophisticated consumers. Growth will be especially strong for off-price retail outlets, discount department stores, specialized mass merchandisers, and specialty stores with specific clienteles. Retailers must plan…

Problems regarding the relationship between college stores and their college communities are addressed. Among the issues addressed are: profit v nonprofit philosophies imposed by the college administration; textbook pricing and markups; academic freedom and textbook selection; bookstore contacts with administrators, students, and faculty; and…

Under trademark law a school automatically develops rights in the use of its name, athletic team, names and slogans, and seals and symbols, but federal registration is also available. Registration provides both national constructive notice of the claim of rights and incontestability of rights after five years of continuous use. (MSE)