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1 – 10 of over 4000Lindsay Hamilton and Nik Taylor
Traditionally, ethnography has been well placed to take account of the messy and complex processes that produce workplace cultures. Likewise, it has always taken interest in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Traditionally, ethnography has been well placed to take account of the messy and complex processes that produce workplace cultures. Likewise, it has always taken interest in the objects, materials and symbolic artifacts that help furnish those organizational cultures. Yet researchers face a particular challenge when the organization in question includes animals. The purpose of this paper is to ask: How do we take account of such others? Are they objects, things, agents or should they be considered to be workers?
Design/methodology/approach
The authors consider several examples of animal‐human workplaces, including abattoirs, laboratories and farms, to argue that ethnography can, and should, take account of animals in creative new ways. First‐hand experience of such settings is drawn upon to argue that contemporary post‐human scholarship and the creative arts offer the potential for more subtle research methods.
Findings
The authors’ fieldwork shows that it is not always a straightforward desire to care for other species that motivates people to work with animals. Instead, a range of unexpected meanings can be drawn from the interaction with animals. It is also unsatisfactory to claim that those working with animals are always motivated by the promise of paid employment. In many cases, notably the rescue shelter, work is often done on a voluntary basis. So the rewards are not always financial but reach into more symbolic and ethical domains of value creation. Conversely, in slaughterhouses, the mechanization of the shopfloor makes it difficult for workers to relate to the “products” as animals at all. The repetitive nature of this work disconnects those on the production line from the idea that they are dealing with bodies. The complexity of these human‐animal relationships means that field methods for studying them must be adapted and evolved.
Originality/value
This paper provokes some new questions about human‐animal meaning making for organizational ethnographers. It does so to generate creative new ideas about field methods and the nature of the “others” that researchers participate with to observe.
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Social media influencers increasingly determine what is fashionable. By creating and sharing visual contents, predominantly on Instagram, they shape what social media users see…
Abstract
Social media influencers increasingly determine what is fashionable. By creating and sharing visual contents, predominantly on Instagram, they shape what social media users see and aspire to. Their contents reflect Instagram esthetics and their own personal brands. This chapter argues that their visuals also represent emerging visual practices and styles that are typical of influencers and transcend fashion and tourism contexts. Using a netnographic approach, this chapter examines Instagram posts of 20 tourism and fashion mega-influencers. It finds common practices but also identifies differential ways in which fashion and tourism visuals are constructed. This chapter highlights how the subjects have intertwined, especially when it comes to influencers.
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This chapter discusses the differences between face-to-face and online ethnographies of Scottish Country Dancing. It draws on fieldwork conducted firstly in Lyon in 2017 and…
Abstract
This chapter discusses the differences between face-to-face and online ethnographies of Scottish Country Dancing. It draws on fieldwork conducted firstly in Lyon in 2017 and subsequently in Edinburgh in 2017–2018, with further fieldwork in Edinburgh, due to the global pandemic, now taking place online. Online Scottish Country Dancing is challenging, especially given that this social dancing requires a partner and space. Due to the pandemic, how and why individuals do online dancing has shifted because people can now link in and across different locations. As a researcher as well as a dancer, my current project utilises blended ethnography, including textual analysis, fieldnotes, participant observations, interviews and surveys. Conducting online ethnographic practices raises specific ethical considerations and challenges, most notably concerning who is being observed and whether the participants are aware of being observed. This chapter addresses how the research aims to adapt ethnography from face-to-face fieldwork to online situations, in response to the impact of COVID-19 and associated ethical challenges.
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Prabash Edirisingha, Robert Aitken and Shelagh Ferguson
In this paper, we provide a practical example of how ethnographic insight is obtained in the field. In so doing, we demonstrate multiple ways in which ethnographic approaches can…
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, we provide a practical example of how ethnographic insight is obtained in the field. In so doing, we demonstrate multiple ways in which ethnographic approaches can be adapted during on-going research processes to develop rich and multiple emic/etic perspectives.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based upon the first author’s reflective experience of undertaking ethnographic field work. The discussion draws from a multi-method, longitudinal and adaptive ethnographic research design, which aimed to capture the process of new family identity formation in Sri Lanka.
Originality/value
Existing research gives us excellent insight into various methods used in contemporary ethnographic research and the kinds of insight generated by these methods. With few exceptions, these studies do not give significant insight into the specifics of the ethnographic research process and the adaption practice. Thus, we provide a practical example of how ethnographic insight is obtained in the research field.
Discussion/findings
Our discussion elaborates the ways in which we integrated multiple research methods such as participant observations, semi-structured in-depth interviews, informal sessions, Facebook interactions, adaptations of performative exercises and elicitation methods to overcome complexities in cultural, mundane and personal consumption meanings. We also discuss how closer friendships with informants emerged as a consequence of the ethnographic research adaption practice and how this influenced trust and confidence in researcher-informant relationship, presenting us with a privileged access to their everyday and personal lives.
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The purpose of this paper is to delve into the nature of ethnography to evaluate its potential as an applied qualitative research method in commercial ad hoc market research. A…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to delve into the nature of ethnography to evaluate its potential as an applied qualitative research method in commercial ad hoc market research. A re‐interpretation of ethnography adapted for the commercial market research environment is proposed and a conceptual framework for its implementation offered.
Design/methodology/approach
This will include examination of the different ethnographic approaches employed across social and market research fields.
Findings
An examination of several case studies reveals how ethnography can produce both tactical and strategic insights into aspects of consumer usage, behaviour, experience and culture.
Originality/value
The paper discusses how ethnographic research can potentially connect marketers, businesses and whole corporations with their consumers, in ways that other forms of market research cannot.
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The purpose of this paper is to take account of organizational ethnography in its historical and methodological context, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Journal of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to take account of organizational ethnography in its historical and methodological context, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Journal of Organizational Ethnography.
Design/methodology/approach
This essay brings together some current issues and concerns in one form of “marked” ethnography.
Findings
This essay touches on the questions: what is organizational ethnography and why is it re‐emerging now?; and on related questions, on its way to engaging some of the key methodological issues in organizational ethnography that today merit attention.
Originality/value
The paper may be of value to readers who are interested in the method and in one researcher's conceptual‐methodological take on it.
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Thaysa Nascimento, Maribel Carvalho Suarez and Roberta Dias Campos
As a result of the advancement of the online environment, several methodological proposals emerged to establish procedures for digital qualitative research. While the various…
Abstract
Purpose
As a result of the advancement of the online environment, several methodological proposals emerged to establish procedures for digital qualitative research. While the various online ethnography methods overlap, they are not equivalent in terms of their theoretical bases, procedures and goals. The purpose of this article is to add clarity to their main differences, depicting specificities, potentialities and limitations of each method.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual article results from an integrative literature review that brought together studies that proposed, debated or used qualitative research methods in the digital environment. The research focused on the primary indexed journals publishing cultural studies in the past 20 years.
Findings
The literature review highlights four methods – virtual ethnography, digital ethnography, netnography and the post-application programming interface ethnography. The integrative literature review adds clarity depicting the main premises and procedures of each method. The present analysis positions the different methods considering two dimensions: the focus on the boundaries of the group/culture investigated, and the focus on the platform agency, affordances and specific dynamics.
Originality/value
The article proposes a comparative framework outlining points of convergence and divergence to create a reference for researchers on topics of significance while designing and conducting a research study in a digital environment. This conceptual organization highlights and supports qualitative researchers on their methodological challenges.
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