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The Set-Up

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The Complexity of Workplace Humour

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Abstract

The anatomy of a joke includes ‘the set up’ the execution, the punch line and hopefully laughter and applause to conclude (Norrick, Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 14(3), 255 274, 2001). Using these joke stages in the structure of the book, this introductory chapter can be considered the ‘set-up’ as it offers definitions and conceptions of humour and highlights the complexity of understanding workplace humour. Challenges in researching humour are identified and discussed and the ethnographic approach used in all of my research is emphasized and justified. The chapter concludes by offering the overall framework for the book by outlining the objectives and content of each chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Management & International Business, University of Auckland Business School, Auckland, New Zealand

    Barbara Plester

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  1. Barbara Plester
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Plester, B. (2016). The Set-Up. In: The Complexity of Workplace Humour. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24669-7_1

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