{"id":90712,"date":"2017-04-03T20:53:19","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T18:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/australian-economist-gives-free-lecture-on-technologys-influence-on-the-book-industry\/"},"modified":"2017-04-03T20:53:19","modified_gmt":"2017-04-03T18:53:19","slug":"australian-economist-gives-free-lecture-on-technologys-influence-on-the-book-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/australian-economist-gives-free-lecture-on-technologys-influence-on-the-book-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Australian economist gives free lecture on technology\u2019s influence on the book industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australian economist gives free lecture on technology\u2019s influence on the book industry<\/a>: <\/p>\n

APRIL 3, 2017: THE BOOK industry \u2013 like many others \u2013 is under pressure from technological change. Can it re-invent itself leveraging off this technology? Will the book format as we know it today survive? What do consumers really want from a book \u2013 the tactile or technological?<\/p>\n

These are questions Australian economist Paul Crosby has been grappling with as he tries to chart the future of the e-book on the wider book industry.<\/p>\n

Crosby, a Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Economics at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, will this week be giving a free public lecture in Grahamstown on his research into this topic.
The lecture, titled, \u2018Don\u2019t judge a book by its cover: A discrete choice model of cultural experience good consumption\u2019, is jointly hosted by Rhodes University Department of Economics, the Economic Society of South Africa (ESSA) and the South African Cultural Observatory (SACO).<\/p>\n

The SACO is a leading national think tank focused on monitoring, mapping, measuring and valuing South Africa\u2019s cultural and creative economy. It is a project of the Department of Arts & Culture (DAC), launched in 2015, and hosted by the Nelson Mandela University in partnership with Rhodes and Fort Hare Universities. It is mandated to produce a working cultural information system for South Africa.
\u201cTechnological change is transforming the book industry. In particular, the digitisation of books has given rise to a suite of new content delivery formats for publishers, such as the e-book and audiobook,\u201d says Crosby.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the rise in popularity of the e-book has been well documented the format\u2019s influence on the future of the book industry is a matter of much conjecture and uncertainty. This is perpetuated by the fact that books are a cultural experience good \u2013 that is to say books possess varying degrees of cultural content, which may give rise to the presence of a cultural value that exists above and beyond a book\u2019s value in exchange.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lecture is based on a survey of over 250 Australian book readers.<\/p>\n

Readers were tasked with choosing from a selection of books, divided between four discrete format alternatives: paperback books, hardback books, e-books and audiobooks \u2013 and their choices analysed to find out what makes cultural experience goods, such as books, so unique.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am excited to share the preliminary results the survey to examine consumers\u2019 book consumption choices. The more we understand how consumers consume and what they want from cultural good, such as books, the better able we are to create products \u2013 whether analogue or digital \u2013 that cater to people\u2019s needs,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The public lecture takes place on Thursday April 6, at 5:30pm at Seminar Room 1, Eden Grove Complex, Rhodes University. Drinks and snacks will be provided.<\/p>\n

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